Mussels Score Early, Take Series Opener From Marauders 5-2

FORT MYERS, Fla. (May 28, 2024) – Ty Langenberg struck out eight Marauders and Nolan Santos picked up a nine-out save as the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels defeated Bradenton Marauders 5-2 on Tuesday night at Hammond Stadium.

Langenberg (2-3) allowed just one run over 5.2 innings of work. The righty has now struck out 32 batters while pitching to a 1.59 ERA over his last 22.2 innings, spanning four starts.

The Mussels (20-26) jumped ahead in the first and led wire to wire in the series opener. Payton Eeles laced the first pitch of the game from Hung-Leng Chang into center field. Two batters later, third baseman Brandon Winokur connected on his 11th double of the season to put Fort Myers ahead 1-0. First baseman Rixon Wingrove followed with an RBI single in his first plate appearance as a Mussel to make it a 2-0 game.

Bradenton (20-26) manufactured a run from the bottom of their order in the second to cut the Mussels’ lead in half. After two quick outs to start the frame, three straight reached against Langenberg on a walk, hit by pitch, and an RBI single from Kalae Harrison.

In the bottom of the second, Fort Myers responded with another pair of runs off of Chang to go ahead 4-1. Carlos Aguiar started the action with a one-out walk. The next batter was Eeles, who pulled a grounder down the first base line for his second triple of the season, making it 3-1. Eeles then scored on a wild pitch to make it 4-1.

Fort Myers tacked on another run in the fifth as Winokur drove in his second run of the game, plating Eeles and putting the Mussels ahead 5-1.

After Aaron Holiday walked three across the sixth and seventh innings, Brian Meyer called Santos from the bullpen. Santos recorded the final nine outs to earn his third save of the season. He struck out the side in the seventh to work out of a jam and totalled five punchouts while allowing just one hit and one walk.

The Mussels’ pitching did well to navigate traffic on the bases, stranding 10 Marauders while not allowing an extra-base hit all game.

Four Mussels recorded multiple hits, including Wingrove and Ryan McCarthy, who were both signed earlier today by the Minnesota Twins.

The Mussels return to action on Wednesday at 7:05 p.m. Jose Olivares (0-0, 4.50 ERA) makes his second start for Fort Myers, opposite Antwone Kelly (1-3, 5.34 ERA) of Bradenton. Coverage begins at 6:45 p.m. on the Mighty Mussels Baseball Network.