Four Mighty Mussels’ pitchers combine to throw sixth no-hitter in franchise history
FORT MYERS – The Fort Myers Mighty Mussels no-hit the Dunedin Blue Jays Sunday afternoon, winning the final game of the series 3-0 at Lee Health Sports Complex.
Fort Myers (14-7) used four pitchers to combine for their sixth no-hitter in franchise history, and first nine-inning no-hitter since 2023. Mussels’ arms Merit Jones, Matthew Becker (1-0), Eric Hammond and Jake Murray shut down the Dunedin (9-12) lineup, needing just 104 pitches to complete the historic win.
The last time Fort Myers threw a nine-inning no-hitter was May 14, 2023. Cory Lewis, AJ Labas, Gabriel Yanez and Ben Ethridge combined to blank the Tampa Tarpons, also by a 3-0 final.
Their most recent no-hitter was on July 24, 2024 in a rain-shortened game in Dunedin.
The Mighty Mussels are the second team to throw a no-hitter in Minor League Baseball in 2026. The other occasion was on April 22, when Braxton Garrett of the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp (Triple-A, MIA) threw 8 no-hit innings in a 2-1 loss.
It is the first no-hitter in the Florida State League since Aug. 15, 2025, when three Clearwater Threshers combined to no-hit Lakeland.
The Mighty Mussels sent Jones to the mound to make his second appearance of the week against Dunedin. Jones hit the leadoff batter JoJo Parker but faced the minimum after the runner was picked off first base.
Jones retired the side in order in the second inning. The righty did not strike out any Blue Jays but was economical, only needing 34 pitches to complete 3.1 innings of work.
“I felt like I had a little bit of everything,” Jones said after the game. “I was able to make it work and pitch to contact and get some outs.”
Jones highlighted the team’s ability to limit damage after Dunedin got runners on base as a catalyst for their success in this series.
“It’s a testament to the coaches and the staff here, and all the hours they put into scouting,” starting catcher Ryan Sprock said following today’s historic game.
Sprock, in his first full season as a catcher, acknowledged the effort it took him in the offseason to fully transition to his new role behind the plate. He took a foul ball off his body and exited the game in the eighth inning, but says he is feeling better.
In the bottom of the third inning, Byran Acuna reached on a fielder’s choice with one out. Three batters later with two runners on, Yasser Mercedes ripped a two-out RBI single to score Acuna and give the Mussels the first run of the game.
Becker relieved Jones with one out and a runner on in the fourth inning. He made his professional debut Sunday afternoon after being selected by the Minnesota Twins in the 19th round of the 2025 draft.
Becker retired the two batters he faced after entering, stranding the tying run at third base.
“I felt good going into today, and Merit [Jones] started out really good, so just build off that,” said Becker. He witnessed a no-hitter at the University of South Carolina last year, but this was the first one he had contributed to.
Continuing into the fifth, Becker made quick work of Dunedin. In the sixth, the southpaw worked around a one-out error by Acuna to put up a zero.
The Mighty Mussels added on in the bottom of the sixth inning. Mercedes worked a leadoff walk against Franly Urena. Following walks of Smith and Young as well, Sprock blooped an RBI single down the right field line to give Fort Myers a 2-0 lead.
In the seventh inning, Becker navigated around another Mussel error to hold Dunedin scoreless.
“He led the way taking over after Merit [Jones],” Sprock said of the 23-year old Becker. “That’s a testament to him and his hard work, waiting for his number to be called and when it did… he took full advantage.”
Manager Jordan Smith turned to Hammond in the eighth inning, and much like Becker, he worked around an error to put together a scoreless frame.
“Just attacking the zone and trusting my defense behind me,” Hammond said of his approach on Sunday. “We’re just trying to make each other better every day, and when we put it together…we’re just having fun.”
After Sprock’s injury, Irvin Nunez entered the game as the Mussels’ backstop.
The offense got back to work in the bottom of the eighth, manufacturing a run off of a leadoff hit by Byron Chourio. Chourio, who entered the game as an injury replacement, scored following a stolen base and two fly balls to make it 3-0.
Fort Myers completed their no-hitter after turning to Murray with two outs in the ninth, who struck out David Beckles to finish the feat.
The Mighty Mussels also tallied their MiLB-leading sixth shutout of 2026 on Sunday.
After the game, Hammond pointed out the consistency in their process, led by pitching coaches Richard Salazar and Dylan Hawley.
“When the guys execute and they follow the plan, good things happen,” Salazar said.
The Mighty Mussels continue to pace all of professional baseball in team ERA, down to 2.27. That mark is 1.16 runs better than the next best team, the Palm Beach (Single-A, STL).
The Mussels hit the road this week to take on the Daytona Tortugas. First pitch on Tuesday is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. There will not be an audio broadcast on the Mighty Mussels’ Baseball Network throughout the series, but there will be coverage on Mussel’ social media accounts. Daytona will have a video feed available on MiLB.TV and the Bally Sports Live App.
Seven-run fifth inning leads Mussels to series ein over Dunedin
FORT MYERS – The Fort Myers Mighty Mussels defeated the Dunedin Blue Jays by a score of 9-2 Saturday night at Lee Health Sports Complex.
The Mighty Mussels (13-7) won their fourth consecutive game behind their best offensive inning of the season.
Leading 1-0 in the fifth inning, Ryan Sprock led off with a double and Bryan Acuna followed up with a walk. Sprock came home on an RBI groundout by Dameury Pena.
Ramiro Dominguez was next, and he showed off his opposite field power, ripping an RBI double to score Acuna. JP Smith II followed up by smoking a 105.5 mph single to bring home Dominguez, extending the lead 4-0.
Minnesota Twins No. 14 prospect Quentin Young continued the rally by scorching an RBI double off the wall in center to drive in Smith. The ball came off the bat at 109.6 mph.
Jayson Bass followed with an RBI single, and Irvin Nunez drove in a run on a sacrifice fly to make it 6-0. The final two runs of the frame came on an error and an opposite field single from Acuna, moving the lead to 8-0.
In total, Mussels brought 12 men to the plate, scoring seven runs on six hits. All three of those statistics are single inning season highs for the Mussels’ offense.
Fort Myers brought 19-year-old Ramiro Villanueva up from the Florida Complex League Saturday and tabbed him with his first start at Single-A. Villanueva gave up a leadoff single in the first inning, but was helped out by his defense as JoJo Parker was caught trying to swipe third base.
The Mighty Mussels struck first in the bottom of the second inning against Dunedin (9-11) starter Brandon Berriera (0-2). After a leadoff walk for Bass, Sprock’s two-out RBI single brought home the first run of the game.
After facing the minimum through three, Villanueva worked around a pair of two-out walks, ending his first Florida State League debut with four shutout innings. Villanueva topped out at 96.9 mph with his fastball while recording five strikeouts.
Adam Falinski (2-0) took over for Villanueva and worked around a walk in the each of fifth and sixth innings to keep Dunedin off the board.
With one out in the seventh inning, Yorman Licourt doubled to break up a streak of 22 consecutive Blue Jays batters who failed to record a hit, dating back to the first inning leadoff single by Parker.
Dunedin got on the board on a sacrifice fly by Austin Smith to drive in Licourt. Cresswell followed by doubling in Smith, making it 8-2 after six and a half innings.
In the bottom of the frame, Acuna recorded his second RBI single of the night to score Byron Chourio, making the score 9-2 Mighty Mussels.
Xavier Kolhosser took over for Falinski and struck out five over the final two innings to wrap up Fort Myers’ fourth straight win. The series’ victory is the second for the Mussels in their first four matchups of the season.
As part of their dominant offensive night, the Mighty Mussels stole two more bases. This now puts them in a tie with Daytona for the most in the FSL (42).
Mercedes’ go-ahead homer lifts Mussels to third win in a row
FORT MYERS – The Fort Myers Mighty Mussels defeated the Dunedin Blue Jays by a score of 5-4 Friday night at Lee Health Sports Complex.
Much like the previous night, the Mighty Mussels’ (12-7) offense fought hard to avoid the shutdown inning after Dunedin (9-10) extended their early lead. Training 3-1 in the fifth inning against Luis Victorino (0-1), Byron Chourio clubbed a leadoff home run to center field at 102 mph for his first blast of the season, making it 3-2.
Ricardo Pena followed with a walk and a double by Yilber Herrera set the table for the top of the order. After the next two hitters failed to drive in the runners, Yasser Mercedes smoked an opposite field 352-foot home run to give Fort Myers its first lead, 5-3.
Mercedes has now connected on three extra-base hits in his last two games.
Fort Myers sent Matthew Dalquist to the mound to make his second start of the season. He struck out leadoff hitter Dariel Ramon, then allowed a base hit to Blaine Bullard.
David Beckles singles two batters later, followed by Enmanuel Bonilla who did the same. Bonilla’s hit scored Ramon, giving Dunedin a 1-0 lead in the top of the first. The righty ended up stranding the bases loaded in the first.
Dalquist worked a scoreless second inning, facing the minimum. After a two-out hit-by-pitch of Ramon, Dalquist caught the runner leaning and R. Pena applied the tag to end the top of the second inning.
Still 1-0 Dunedin in the bottom of the fourth inning, Jayson Bass reached on an error on a flyball to left field and advanced to second on the misplay. Ian Daugherty took advantage of the error, ripping an RBI single into left field, and Fort Myers tied the score 1-1.
A one-out rally in the top of the fifth put Dunedin back in front. Ramon walked, then Blaine Bullard tripled to straight-away center field. Adrian Pinto followed up with a double to give the Blue Jays a 3-1 lead halfway through the game.
Chourio and Mercedes connected on their fifth inning home runs to flip the lead and change the momentum of the game.
Michael Hilker Jr. (2-0), who got the final two outs for Dalquist in the fifth, continued to pitch well in innings six and seven. Hilker Jr. allowed two hits over 2.2 innings, shutting down the Dunedin offense after the Mussels took the lead.
Mitch Mueller relieved him in the eighth inning, striking out one Blue Jay across a clean frame of work.
Brian Zeldin (S2) got the ball in the ninth inning. He allowed a two-out home run to Bullard, who had four hits on the night, but rebounded to lock down the save and finish off the third win in a row for Fort Myers.