Jenkins, Houghton Lead Mussels to Fifth Straight Win

DUNEDIN, Fla. (July 24, 2024) – Walker Jenkins and Maddux Houghton both connected on their third homer of the season Wednesday, leading the Mighty Mussels to an 8-1 win over the Dunedin Blue Jays to extend the Fort Myers’ winning streak to five.

Paulshawn Pasqualotto led a one-hit effort by the Mussels’ (48-41, 17-7) pitching staff, complete with 13 strikeouts. Fort Myers has now allowed just one hit through the first 15 innings of the series. Pasqualotto struck out six in a row early in his outing, allowing just a solo home run to Victor Arias. It was his first start since May 15.

Mussels’ relievers Tomas Cleto (1-1), Jack Noble, and Samuel Perez did the rest, combining for five shutout innings while striking out another seven Blue Jays.

Jenkins matched a season high with 4 RBI, while Houghton connected on his first dinger since May 25. Both were involved in the two early Fort Myers rallies.

In a scoreless game in the top of the third, Houghton started the scoring with a rocket homer down the left field line to make it 1-0. After Yohander Martinez was hit by a pitch, Jenkins promptly cranked a two-run shot to right to extend the lead to 3-0.

After the Arias homer made it 3-1, Poncho Ruiz and Rixon Wingrove started the fourth with opposite field singles. With one out, Houghton dribbled a ball in front of home plate. Nic Deschmps’ throw to first ricocheted into right field to score Ruiz and make it 4-1. After a walk and a pitching change, Jenkins drilled a two-run single to left with two outs to cap the inning at 6-1 Mighty Mussels.=

Fort Myers tacked on a run in the eighth on a Houghton single, and another one in the ninth on a Brandon Winokur sacrifice fly.

With a Lakeland loss on Wednesday, the Mighty Mussels are now 3.5 games ahead of the rest of the division. Their 17-7 start in the second half is the best start to a half for the Fort Myers franchise since the 2017 Miracle began the second half 17-4.

The Mighty Mussels will look to extend their winning streak to six at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday. RHP Spencer Bengard (6-2, 1.79) is scheduled to start for Fort Myers, opposite RHP Grant Rogers (2-4, 4.48) of the D-Jays. Coverage begins at 6:15 p.m. on the Mighty Mussels Baseball Network.