Mussels punctuate doubleheader sweep with dramatic comeback in extra innings
FORT MYERS – The Fort Myers Mighty Mussels swept their doubleheader with the Jupiter Hammerheads Thursday night at Lee Health Sports Complex.
The Mussels (26-22) registered a one-hitter in game one and put forth one of their best offensive outputs of the season. In game two, with Jupiter (28-20) leading by three in the seventh inning, Fort Myers stormed back to win in extra innings on a walk-off single from Dameury Pena. Pena reached base in seven of his 10 plate appearances on the day.
Merphy Hernandez, who scored the winning run in game two, also offered an impressive feat, reaching in seven out of eight plate appearances and stealing second base each time he got aboard.
The Mussels also stole 16 bases in the doubleheader, giving them 114 on the year and moving them into the top of the leaderboard in the Florida State League.
Game One — Fort Myers 9, Jupiter 1 (7 innings)
Fort Myers sent Merit Jones (1-1) to the mound in the first game of Thursday’s doubleheader. Jones made quick work of the Hammerheads in the first, not allowing a ball out of the infield in a 1-2-3 frame.
In the second inning, Carter Johnson led off with a double and was driven in on a sacrifice fly. That double ended up being the lone Hammerhead hit in the game.
The Mighty Mussels responded in the second. Graham Brown recorded his first affiliated hit on an infield single. After Byron Chourio walked, Bryan Acuna smashed an RBI single to tie the game.
With runners at second and third, Hernandez’s fielder’s choice drove in the go-ahead run. Pena came up next and smoked a two-run double to extend the lead to 4-1 after two innings.
Chourio scored in the inning but left the game as a result, Luis Fragoza replaced him in right field in the third.
The Mussels continued to add on in the fourth, with Pena’s second run-scoring hit of the game. His three-hit effort in game one was his fourth of the season, breaking a tie for first on the team with Jayson Bass.
Jones continued to dominate through five innings. He retired eight of the final nine he faced and became the first Mussels’ starting pitcher to earn a win this season, doing so in game number 47 for the team. The Mussels were previously 0-4 in games in which a starter went five innings.
In the bottom of the fifth, Fragoza muscled a two-run home run to straight-away center field. His third bomb of the season went 411 feet onto the batter’s eye to extend the lead to 7-1.
Jonathan Stevens relieved Jones and worked a clean sixth inning, striking out the first two Hammerheads he faced.
In the bottom of the sixth, the Mussels added onto their lead without the benefit of a hit. Two walks and two hit-by-pitches led to two runs and a 9-1 Mussels’ advantage.
Jake Murray finished off the Hammerheads in the seventh, working a clean frame.
Mussel pitching retired the final eight Hammerheads and 13 of the final 15 batters of the game, only facing two above the minimum in the seven-inning contest. The trio of arms needed just 79 total pitches in the win.
Game Two — Fort Myers 7, Jupiter 6 (10 innings)
The Mighty Mussels sent 6-foot-1 right-hander Jason Reitz to the mound to make his second professional start. Reitz recorded his first professional strikeout to strand a runner in scoring position in the first.
In three innings of work, Reitz did not allow a hit. He faced two above the minimum and left the game scoreless to the fourth inning.
The Mighty Mussels struck in the bottom of the fourth without the benefit of a hit. JP Smith II reached on an error, stole a base and scored on a wild pitch against Dameivi Tineo.
Facing Kolten Smith, Jupiter responded in the fifth with back-to-back one-out doubles to tie the game. Two batters later, Andres Valor tattooed his fourth home run of the season to give the Hammerheads a 3-1 lead.
The Mussels threatened in the fifth, but reliever Luis De La Cruz recorded a key strikeout of Bass to strand a runner at third.
In the top of the sixth inning, the Hammerheads tacked on to their lead. A double from Johnson led off the inning, then Andrew Salas doubled him in two batters later.
The Mighty Mussels rallied to tie the game in the bottom of the seventh inning against Braulio Salas (4-3). Following a leadoff bunt single from Hernandez, the next three batters worked walks. Following a pitching change, Bass and J. Smith each recorded sacrifice flies to tie the game at four.
In the top of the eighth inning, the first extra inning frame, Mike McKenna relieved K. Smith. McKenna faced the minimum, but Jupiter manufactured the automatic runner in to take the lead. In the bottom of the eighth, Hernandez came up clutch again by poking a game-tying single over the second baseman’s head. The score was 5-5 going into the ninth inning.
After the Hammerheads struck in the top of the ninth, the Mussels responded by tying the game again. Dominguez, who began the inning at second base, scored on a fielder’s choice to retie the game at six.
Facing Michael Hilker Jr. (3-1), Jupiter struck in the top of the 10th inning for one run.
In the bottom of the 10th, the Mussels got the tying run home on a balk with one out. Three batters later, Pena delivered Fort Myers’ second walk-off victory of the season with an RBI single to score Hernandez from second base. Hernandez totaled four hits in the game, becoming the third player on the active roster to reach that total this season.
Fort Myers scored in each of the final four innings of the game and plated at least one run in nine of their 16 offensive frames in the doubleheader.
The series continues on today, May 29. Fort Myers will send Justin Mitrovich (0.77) to the mound, and Jupiter will counter with southpaw Julio Mendez (4.26). First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. with coverage beginning at 6:40 p.m. on the Mighty Mussels Baseball Network.