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Mussels Play Spoiler in 6-5 Win Over Marauders

September 19, 2023

FORT MYERS, Fla. (September 6, 2023) – The Mighty Mussels took the lead in the bottom of the eighth without recording a hit Wednesday, greatly diminishing the Bradenton Marauders’ postseason hopes in a gutsy 6-5 win at Hammond Stadium. Knotted at 5-5 in the bottom of the eighth, Rubel Cespedes

FORT MYERS, Fla. (September 6, 2023) – The Mighty Mussels took the lead in the bottom of the eighth without recording a hit Wednesday, greatly diminishing the Bradenton Marauders’ postseason hopes in a gutsy 6-5 win at Hammond Stadium.

Knotted at 5-5 in the bottom of the eighth, Rubel Cespedes and Nate Baez both walked to open the inning. After Cespedes advanced to third on a force out at second base, *Kyle Schmidt *rolled a soft grounder towards the hole at short for a fielder’s choice that gave the Mussels a 6-5 (66-61, 32-29) advantage.

Fort Myers reliever *Samuel Perez *slammed the door in the ninth with a 1-2-3 inning to secure his second save of the season. The win guarantees a winning record for Fort Myers for the ninth time in the last ten seasons. With the loss, Bradenton (73-53, 38-23) fell to 2.5 games back of Lakeland for the final playoff spot with four the play in the season as well.

In the top of the third, Geovanny Planchart walked and Lonnie White Jr. singled to place runners at first and second. With two outs in the inning, Rodolfo Nolasco launched a titanic three-run shot to left that put Bradenton up 3-0. Nolasco now has two homers in the series and eight against the Mussels this season.

In the bottom of the fourth, Danny De Andrade and Cespedes led off with walks. The next hitter was Baez,who lifted a three-run moonshot to left center to tie the game at 3-3.

Still tied in the bottom of the fifth, Jay Harry and Walker Jenkins notched back-to-back singles to begin the frame. After Jenkins stole second to place runners at second and third, Bradenton pitcher Magdiel Cotto tossed a wild pitch that brought home Harry to give Fort Myers a 4-3 lead. After Jenkins advanced to third, De Andrade dribbled a soft grounder to short that scored the run to put Fort Myers up 5-3.

In the top of the seventh, Jesus Castillo walked and stole second. With two outs in the frame, Mitch Jebb sent a towering drive to the wall in deep right center. As the ball caromed back towards the infield, Jebb circled the bases for a two-run inside-the-park homer to tie the game at 5-5.

The Mussels will return to the diamond Thursday when they send *John Klein *(2-1, 2.97) to the hill, opposed Owen Kellington (1-2, 3.67) of the Marauders. First pitch is slated for 7:00 p.m. with coverage beginning at 6:45 p.m. on the Mighty Mussels Baseball Network.