Mighty Mussels Throw Last Punch in Back-and-Forth Opener with Lakeland
BOX SCORE FORT MYERS, Fla. (July 17, 2026) - JP Smith II drove in three runs and blasted a go-ahead home run as the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels defeated the Lakeland Flying Tigers by a final score of 9-5 on Friday night at Lee Health Sports Complex. In a game
FORT MYERS, Fla. (July 17, 2026) - JP Smith II drove in three runs and blasted a go-ahead home run as the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels defeated the Lakeland Flying Tigers by a final score of 9-5 on Friday night at Lee Health Sports Complex.
In a game that saw the Flying Tigers fight back and force three ties, JP Smith II’s two-run home run in the bottom of the seventh inning proved to be the difference in the Mighty Mussels’ win.
JP SMITH FOR THE LEAD! 🫡#MNTwins
— Fort Myers Mighty Mussels (@MightyMussels) July 18, 2026
Bot 7 | FTM 7 - LAK 5 pic.twitter.com/e7Sqqvub8g
Fort Myers (47-38, 10-10) handed Reed Moring the ball in their first game out of the All-Star Break. Moring induced a flyout from rehabbing All-Star Gleyber Torres on his way to a 1-2-3 top of the first.
Ramiro Dominguez walked and Double-A rehabber Jake Rucker singled to begin the bottom of the first against Major League rehabber Burch Smith. Sacrifice flies from Luis Fragoza and JP Smith put the Mussels on top 2-0.
Three consecutive Lakeland (40-47, 9-13) singles to begin the top of the second against Moring tied the game. With two on and two out, Moring induced a flyout from Detroit Tigers No. 7 prospect Jordan Yost to limit the damage and keep the game tied.
Moring finished with seven strikeouts in 3.2 innings, throwing 49 of his 67 pitches for strikes. With two out in the fourth, Callan Fang came on and struck out the only man he faced in the frame.
In the bottom half, Fort Myers took the lead back. With two on and two out, Ramiro Dominguez lined a run-scoring single off the glove of Yost to bring home Byron Chourio. Merphy Hernandez, who singled earlier in the frame, scored on a wild pitch during the next at bat. The Mussels took a 4-2 lead to the fifth inning.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Dominguez drove in Chourio again, lining a ball that deflected off of Yost’s mitt, making the score 5-3.
Fang recorded five strikeouts over 2.2 scoreless innings. After recording one out in the seventh, he gave way to Dylan Questad.
Questad issued two consecutive walks, then Nick Dumesnil smoked a two-run double to right field to make it 5-4. Michael Hilker Jr. (4-2) was the third Mussel pitcher of the inning, and he allowed the inherited runner to score on a game-tying RBI single by Edian Espinal.
After Luis Fragoza reached on a catcher’s interference, Smith paid it off with an opposite-field home run against Jan Caraballo (2-4) to give the Mussels a 7-5 lead. Smith’s 11th of the season travelled 377 feet and left the bat at 103.4 mph.
Later in the frame, M. Hernandez roped a two-run double into right-center field to double Fort Myers’ lead, making the score 9-5.
Triple-A rehabber Julian Merryweather needed just eight pitches to strike out two Flying Tigers and secure the win. Tonight marked the Mussels’ first victory in a home series opener this season, improving to 1-8 in such situations.
The series continues on Saturday, July 18. Jason Reitz (2.84) gets the start for Fort Myers with Malachi Witherspoon (5.46) tabbed to start for Lakeland. First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. with coverage beginning at 5:40 p.m. on the Mighty Mussels Baseball Network.