Fort Myers falls to Clearwater, 7-4, Saturday
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FORT MYERS -- The Fort Myers Mighty Mussels committed five errors and lost 7-4 to the Clearwater Threshers at Hammond Stadium Saturday night.
The loss marked the sixth straight overall for the Mussels, and fifth straight to the Threshers.
After two scoreless innings to begin the game, Clearwater (59-47, 23-17) tagged Fort Myers (46-59, 18-22) starter Dasan Hill for a pair of runs in the top of the third.
Hill allowed back-to-back singles to Raider Tello and Tyler Pettorini to begin the inning. Tello scored later in the frame on a wild pitch before Pettorini scored on the first Mussel error of the night, as the Threshers took a 2-0 lead.
Hill's night ended after 3.2 innings, where he allowed two runs (one earned) on three hits, while striking out three.
Clearwater would extend their margin in the top of the fifth inning off rehabber Kyle Jones, as three errors by the Mussels' defense allowed a trio of runs to touch home and make it 5-0 Threshers.
Fort Myers responded with three runs of their own in the bottom of the fifth. Ian Daugherty and Dameury Pena each walked to begin the inning, before Yasser Mercedes hit his team-leading ninth home run of the season to cut the deficit to 5-3 Clearwater.
This year's 16th round pick Jonathan Stevens made his professional debut in the top of the seventh inning and allowed back-to-back singles to start his outing. He then got two consecutive strikeouts and a fly out to escape the jam.
With the score still the same in the bottom of the seventh inning, JP Smith II hit his second home run of the series and put the Mussels within a run at 5-4.
Stevens faced the minimum in the top of the eighth despite issuing a one-out walk, as he induced a ground ball double play to end his night with two scoreless innings of work.
Julio Bonilla entered in the ninth and allowed three straight hits, with the last of the three driving in a run and giving Clearwater a 6-4 lead. Bonilla then got a strikeout, before Dante Nori singled into right center to push the margin to 7-4.
Mussels lose fifth straight, fall 5-2 in game four of series against Threshers
FORT MYERS -- The Fort Myers Mighty Mussels lost their fourth straight game to the Clearwater Threshers, and fifth in a row overall, after falling 5-2 Friday night at Hammond Stadium.
For the third time in the four games, Clearwater (58-47, 22-17) got on the scoreboard first.
In the top of the second inning, the Threshers tagged Fort Myers (46-58, 18-22) starter Michael Carpenter (0-5) for a run. Nathan Humphreys walked to begin the frame, and later scored on an RBI single by Will Vierling to make it 1-0 Clearwater.
The Threshers doubled their lead in the fourth after Jonathan Hogart plated a run with a sacrifice fly to give Clearwater a 2-0 advantage.
Carpenter threw four innings in the start and struck out a season-high five batters. He allowed two runs (one earned) on four hits, and issued a pair of walks.
Eli Jones took over in the fifth inning and faced the minimum through three innings on just 30 pitches.
Clearwater starter Luke Gabrysh exited after six shutout innings, and gave way to Luis Avila. Gabrysh set a new season-high in innings and pitches with 92.
Fort Myers broke through for a run against Avila in the bottom of the seventh. Harry Genth and Damuery Pena walked to begin the frame. Genth and Pena then executed a double steal, which put runners at second and third for JP Smith II.
Smith served a single into center field to allow Genth to score and cut the deficit to 2-1. That was all the Mussels would get in the frame though, as Ryan Sprock grounded into an inning-ending double play with the bases loaded.
Clearwater jumped on Jones in the top of the eighth and scored a trio of runs to extend their lead to 5-1. Only one of the three errors was earned against Jones, as the Mussels committed two errors in the inning.
Eduardo Beltre led off the home half of the eighth with a screaming double down the third base line, before stealing third and scoring on an RBI groundout by Bryan Acuna. Acuna's groundout made it 5-2 Clearwater after eight.