Hammerheads rally late to hand Mussels fifth consecutive defeat
FORT MYERS – The Fort Myers Mighty Mussels were defeated by the Jupiter Hammerheads by a final score of 9-7 Tuesday night at Lee Health Sports Complex.
Each loss in Fort Myers’ season-high five game losing streak has been decided by two runs or fewer.
Fort Myers (24-22) sent Ramiro Villanueva to the mound to make his seventh start of the season. Villanueva faced the minimum in the first inning, striking out two Hammerheads (28-18).
In the top of the second inning, Carter Johnson led off with a single. Three batters later, with Johnson at second, Echedry Vargas ripped an RBI single into left-center field to give Jupiter a 1-0 lead.
Fort Myers threatened but did not score in the bottom of the inning, as Quentin Young was thrown out at home plate.
The game remained 1-0 Hammerheads into the bottom of the fourth, but three of the first five Mussels reached on walks against Jake Clemente. Jayson Bass worked the fourth free pass of the inning to score Enrique Jimenez and tie the game.
With the bases still loaded and Luis Fragoza batting, new Jupiter pitcher Franklin Moreta balked. Fort Myers took a 2-1 lead after four innings.
In the fifth, the Mussels offense got back to work. Dameury Pena led off the inning with a sharp single, then Ramiro Dominguez followed up by taking a walk.
The next batter was Jimenez, who pumped a two-run double into the right-center field gap to extend the lead. Jimenez came into score later in the inning on a fielder’s choice and the score was 5-1 after five innings.
Jupiter fought back in the subsequent frame against Reed Moring, striking for two runs on four hits to cut the deficit in half, 5-3.
In the bottom half, following a leadoff walk from Bass, Fragoza tore into his second home run of the season. The ball left the bat at 103.8 mph to reestablish a four-run lead, 7-3.
After striking for a run in the seventh, Jupiter’s offense continued to put pressure on Fort Myers pitching in the eighth. Facing Matthew Dalquist (0-2), three consecutive Hammerheads reached and two runs scored to make it a 7-6 game going into the ninth.
In the top of the ninth inning, Dalquist allowed four of the first five batters to record hits. Three runs scored and Jupiter stormed back to take a 9-7 lead into the bottom of the ninth.
The Mussels got the tying run to the plate against Luis Cesar (2-0) but failed to score.
Jupiter hammered out eight runs on 13 hits over the final four innings to complete the comeback win despite its pitching staff matching a season-high in walks with 11.
The series continues today, May 27. Merit Jones (3.52) gets the start for Fort Myers, with southpaw Dameivi Tineo (1.72) who will pitch for Jupiter. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. with coverage beginning at 6:40 p.m. on the Mighty Mussels Baseball Network.