Perez, Schmidt Lead Mussels to Split in Lakeland

LAKELAND, Fla (May 8, 2022) – The Mussels took care of business on Sunday, winning 9-1 to earn a split of the six-game series against the Lakeland Flying Tigers at Joker Marchant Stadium.

Four Mussels (14-10) pitchers combined on a four-hitter, while Fort Myers notched double-digit hits for the fourth straight game.

The Mighty Mussels kicked off the scoring in the third. Daniel Ozoria earned the first hit of the day with a single. He then advanced to third on a base hit from Jake Rucker. Rucker then got caught attempting to steal second, but it allowed Ozoria to come home and put the Mussels up 1-0.

In the fourth, Noah Cardenas and Kyler Fedko both walked with one out before Mikey Perez doubled to left center, driving in both runners to make it 3-0.

In the fifth, Rucker singled to center and turned on the jets to advance to second. Noah Miller and Emmanuel Rodriguez then walked to load the bases. Fedko followed with a sacrifice fly to center to score Rucker and extend the lead to 4-0. After a stolen base from Rodriguez and a walk from Perez, Kyle Schmidt lined a single to drive in two and cap the inning at 6-0.

With two outs in the sixth, Rucker singled and then stole a base. Miller then singled to left to drive home Rucker to extend the lead to 7-0.

In the bottom half of the inning, Lakeland’s (12-14) Roberto Campos tallied their lone run of the game on a home run to left to make it 7-1.

The Mussels tacked on another in the eighth on a sacrifice fly from Rucker to score Dylan Neuse, putting the game at 8-1.

In the ninth, Fedko singled with two outs and then stole second. The next batter was Perez, who singled to plate Rucker and cap the scoring at 9-1.

Steve Hajjar tossed three scoreless innings without allowing a hit and struck out eight Tigers. Juan Mendez (1-1) went one scoreless inning to earn the win. Marco Raya spun three frames before Matthew Swain logged the final two.

Rucker had a phenomenal series, going 10-for-22 with three doubles, a triple, three RBI, four walks, and three stolen bases (1.182 OPS). Miller did even better, finishing the week 11-for-23 with four walks, three stolen bases, two doubles, a triple, and a home run (1.339 OPS).

The Mighty Mussels will be back at home against the Palm Beach Cardinals on Tuesday, May 10. Coverage begins at 6:45 EDT on the Mighty Mussels Baseball Network.