Mussels Mount Comeback but Drop Doubleheader to St. Lucie

FORT MYERS, Fla. (June 2, 2023) – The Mighty Mussels mounted a comeback in Game 2 Friday, but the St. Lucie Mets swept the doubleheader by scores of 1-0 and 9-4 at Hammond Stadium.

After four errors on the defensive end put Fort Myers (27-22) behind 6-0 in the third inning of Game 2, Mussels second baseman Mikey Perez roped a leadoff single to left center. The next batter was Rafael Cruz, who rocketed an RBI triple to the wall in right center to cut it to 6-1. Rubel Cespedes followed with a sacrifice fly to right to cut the margin to 6-2.

Still trailing by that margin in the bottom of the fifth, Cruz walked before Cespedes clubbed a two-run homer to the gap in deep right center to trim the margin to 6-4. The next two Mussels reached base before Joey Lancelloti came in to retire the next two batters and snuff out the threat.

In the top of the sixth, the Mets (15-33) plated three more thanks to a home run from Junior Tilien to cap the scoring at 9-4.

The Mussels received a strong pitching performance in Game 1 of the doubleheader but couldn’t muster any offense. Andrew Morris (1-1) spun five innings of one-run ball, with the lone run scoring on an infield single from Kevin Villavicenzio in the fourth. Gabriel Yanez tossed two scoreless frames to keep Fort Myers within one.

The Mighty Mussels will look to re-take the lead in the series at 6 p.m. on Saturday. RHP Jose Olivares (2-2, 5.40) is slated to start for Fort Myers, opposite RHP Jordany Ventura (2-1, 4.70) of St. Lucie. Coverage begins at 5:45 p.m. on the Mighty Mussels Baseball Network.