Tarpons Rally Late But Come Up Short Against Fort Myers

TAMPA, Fla. – Wednesday’s contest at George M. Steinbrenner Field slipped away from the Tampa Tarpons (35-30) as the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels (36-28) pulled away late to even the series at one apiece.

Thatcher Hurd turned in a strong performance on the hill for Tampa. The right hander allowed one earned run across 4.1 innings while striking out eight.

Fort Myers broke through with three runs in the top of the fifth on two RBI singles and a wild pitch.

The Tarpons answered in the bottom half. Austin Green started the rally driving in two runs on a single into shallow right field. Ediel Rivera crossed the plate on a Mighty Mussels wild pitch before Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek put Tampa in front with an RBI double that was just out of reach from the diving left fielder, making it 4-3 Tarpons.

The scoring resumed in the top of the seventh when Fort Myers scrapped together five runs. Demeury Peña drove in the first run of the inning before four unearned runs crossed the plate after a Tampa miscue.

The Mighty Mussels tallied on another run after a Quentin Young solo home run, extending their advantage to 9-4.

The Tarpons would not go down quietly in the ninth. Logan Maxwell started the inning with a leadoff double before JoJo Jackson brought him in with his third hit of the night. Then Engelth Urena sent a towering home run over the left field wall, pulling Tampa within two runs.

Urena’s blast would close the scoring for the Tarpons with the final score of 9-7 in favor of Fort Myers.

The Tarpons will face the Mighty Mussels for game three bright and early tomorrow with first pitch slated for 11:00 AM.