Cossetti Stays Hot in 8-7 Defeat to Hammerheads

FORT MYERS, Fla. (April 19, 2023) – Andrew Cossetti hit his third home run in as many games Wednesday, but the Mussels’ bullpen blew a six-run lead in an 8-7 loss at Hammond Stadium.

Cossetti capped a three-run rally in the bottom of the fifth by launching a home run onto the berm in left field to push the lead to 6-0. The blast left Cossetti’s bat at 110.9 miles per hour and gave him his second dinger of the series.

The Mussels (5-6) carried a no-hitter and 6-0 lead into the seventh but found themselves in trouble after allowing a one-out walk and single. Johnathan Lavallee entered and picked up a strikeout to begin his outing. Jupiter first baseman Cristhian Rodriguez then singled in Tanner Allen to cut Jupiter’s (7-4) deficit to 6-1. After a walk loaded the bases, Noah Williamson crushed a grand slam over the left field concourse to cut the Fort Myers’ lead to 6-5.

Leading by one in the bottom of the seventh, Mussels third baseman Jorel Ortega walked and Ricardo Olivar singled to left to set up a first and second opportunity for Cossetti. The Fort Myers catcher added some insurance by floating a base hit into shallow center to score Ortega from second. The knock gave Fort Myers a 7-5 lead and Cossetti his fourth RBI on the night.

However, Jupiter continued its climb in the top of the eighth, hitting three consecutive singles to load the bases with one out. With Jan Mercado at the plate, a Zach Veen (0-1) wild pitch scored Jorge Caballero from third, cutting the lead to one run. After Veen struck out the next hitter, Rodriguez checked in with a two-run single to right field to give the Hammerheads their first lead of the night at 8-7.

The Mussels failed to reach base in the eighth and ninth, dropping their second consecutive game to the Hammerheads.

The beginning of the ballgame was sparked by a dominating performance from Mussels starting pitcher Develson Aria, who allowed no hits and struck out four batters over five shutout innings.

The game remained scoreless until the bottom of the fourth, when Danny De Andrade drew a four-pitch walk and Ricardo Olivar singled to left to put runners at the corners with no outs. The next hitter was Andrew Cossetti, who served a soft liner into left field to give the Mussels a 1-0 lead.

One batter later with runners at first and second, Carlos Aguiar muscled a single into left field to bring in Olivar, extending the Fort Myers’ lead to 2-0. After a strikeout, Yohander Martinez kept the line moving, roping a double down the left-field line to score Cossetti to give the Mussels a 3-0 advantage.

With the same score in the bottom of the fifth, the Mussels put runners at the corners after a hit batter, stolen base, balk, and a walk. Danny De Andrade added to the lead by sending a flyball to deep center for a sacrifice fly, making it 4-0. That set the stage for Cossetti’s two-run shot.

The loss dropped the Mussels to 5-6 on the season and gives the Hammerheads their fourth consecutive victory. Both teams will return to the field tomorrow for game three of the series as Cory Lewis (1-1, 4.82) gets the nod for Fort Myers, opposed by Juan Reynoso (0-1, 4.91) for Jupiter. Coverage begins at 6:45 p.m. on the Mighty Mussels Baseball Network.