Weekend wrap: Fragoza homers twice, Mussels defeat Mets in series finale
FORT MYERS – The Fort Myers Mighty Mussels defeated the St. Lucie Mets by a final score of 6-5 Sunday afternoon at Lee Health Sports Complex. The Mussels are now a season-high 13 games above .500 and they own the league’s best overall record.
The Mussels (43-30, 6-2) have four players with an on-base streak of at least 10 games and all four extended their respective streaks on Sunday: Ryan Sprock (20), JP Smith II (13), Jayson Bass (14, while scoring in 11 straight), Merphy Hernandez (11, while scoring in nine straight).
Hernandez also leads the Florida State League in stolen bases with 23 since his debut on May 21. He is nine steals above the next closest players.
Luis Fragoza homered twice today, becoming the second Mussel to accomplish the feat in 2026. The 19-year-old was on fire this series, batting .466 on the week and recording four extra-base hits.
Fort Myers’ offense has recorded an extra base hit in 25 straight games, the longest active streak in the FSL.
Fort Myers sent Merit Jones to the mound to make his eighth start of the season. Jones struck out Antonio Jimenez to complete a 1-2-3 first inning.
In the top of the second, back-to-back one-out doubles by St. Lucie (35-38, 2-5) put the Mets on top 1-0.
The Mighty Mussels responded against St. Lucie starter Ethan Lanthier (0-1) in the bottom of the second inning. Following a leadoff single by Bass, Fragoza ripped a first-pitch slider onto the left field berm to put the Mussels on top 2-1.
With one out in the third, three consecutive Mussels singled. Bass drove in Ramiro Dominguez and the Mussels extended their lead 3-1.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, Sprock drove in Hernandez with a two-out single up the middle to push the lead to 4-1.
St. Lucie got a run closer in the top of the fifth inning against Triple-A rehabber Eduardo Salazar, as Branny De Oleo recorded an RBI on a sacrifice fly.
Fragoza’s second home run of the game made the score 5-2 after five innings.
Hendry Chivilli (1-1) took over in the sixth. Chivilli, making his first appearance at home in 2026, struck out two hitters in a clean frame.
Chivilli was aided by a double play in the seventh inning to work around two singles.
Ricardo Paez blooped a two-out RBI single in the bottom of the seventh inning to make the score 6-2.
Chivilli gave up a run in the eighth inning, but completed three strong innings for his first Single-A win.
Jonathan Stevens allowed two runs in the top of the ninth and left runners at first and second with one out.
Mike McKenna (S3) induced a flyout then a groundout to strand the tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position.
Fort Myers is now 5-0 in Sunday games at Hammond Stadium this season, and is a FSL-best 23-14 at home. The Mussels also record their fourth consecutive game without an error, improving to 17-6 in error-free games this season.
The Mussels hit the road and head up I-75 to play the Clearwater Threshers Tuesday evening. First pitch at BayCare Ballpark is set for 6:30 p.m. with coverage beginning at 6:15 p.m. on the Mighty Mussels Baseball Network.
Mussels, Mets postponed; game rescheduled for late-July in Port St. Lucie
FORT MYERS – Saturday’s contest between the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels and the St. Lucie Mets was postponed due to inclement weather.
The Mighty Mussels and Mets will make this game up when Fort Myers visits St. Lucie from July 21-26. The exact time and date will be announced in the coming days. Fort Myers will be the designated home team for this contest.
Four Mussels go deep, Fort Myers takes third in a row from St. Lucie
FORT MYERS – The Fort Myers Mighty Mussels matched a season high with four home runs as they defeated the St. Lucie Mets by a final score of 6-2 on Friday evening at Lee Health Sports Complex. The Mussels are now a season-high 12 games above .500.
Ryan Sprock’s 18-game hitting streak came to an end on the night. Sprock’s streak ranks third in Fort Myers’ franchise history, behind Christian Encarnacion-Strand (20 in 2021) and Mike Gonzalez (19 in 2014).
“This is the best stretch I have had,” Sprock said after Friday’s win. “This was a good little up-stretch but baseball is a rollercoaster, and you have to try and stay levelheaded.”
Sprock is having a fantastic month of June despite going hitless tonight. His season slash line has risen from .262/.393/.338 to .317/.444/.442 with his performance this month. He has taken 17 walks and recorded 29 hits since the calendar flipped.
“A lot of it comes down to a really good routine pregame and trusting it,” Sprock said, praising hitting coach Carlos Lara. “It’s a process and the results showed.”
After the win, Sprock commented on the team’s camaraderie this season:
“We’re a pretty tight knit group. We may not all speak the same language, but we all speak baseball… In a place where it can be so individualized, in pro ball, I think we are all pulling for each other to succeed and I think that is why we are a really good ball club.”
Byron Chourio, JP Smith II, Jayson Bass, and Merphy Hernandez all went yard for the Mighty Mussels against Jonathan Jimenez (2-2). The offense scored in each of the first four innings with all five total hits producing runs.
Fort Myers (42-30, 5-2) sent Jason Reitz to the mound to make his fifth start of the season. The 6’11” right-hander struck out two Mets (34-36, 2-4) in a scoreless first inning.
In the bottom of the frame, Sprock led off with a walk and JP Smith II delivered a one-out RBI knock to score him and give Fort Myers the lead.
With a runner aboard in the bottom of the second, Chourio connected on his fourth home run of the season, a two-run blast to make it 3-0. Chourio’s second Hammond Stadium homer of 2026 left the bat at 103.1 mph.
Smith led off the third with a towering shot to the top of the berm in left. Bass followed with his team leading 10th homer of the season as the back-to-back blasts made it 5-0.
With one out in the fourth, Hernandez laced a solo homer to right, making it 6-0.
Reitz exited after 4.2 innings of scoreless baseball. The Minnesota Twins fourth rounder struck out three and topped out at 94 mph. Dylan Questad took over with two outs and a runner at first. He issued a pair of walks to load the bases but escaped the jam with a strikeout of Trey Snyder.
In the top of the sixth, Matthew DesMartes (2-0) allowed an inherited runner to score on an RBI double from Chase Meggers to put St. Lucie on the scoreboard. DesMartes worked a scoreless seventh inning, retiring the side despite a single and a walk.
Michael Hilker Jr. came on in the eighth inning for his team-leading 22nd relief appearance. Hilker Jr. allowed a leadoff single but held the five-run lead after that.
Brent Francisco allowed a run in the ninth, but locked down Fort Myers’ third consecutive win, and their fifth out of their last six games.
Tonight was Fort Myers’ third consecutive game without an error. Their record in such games this season is now 16-6.