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Doncon, Pasqualotto Lead Mussels Past Tarpons 5-2 To Claim Series

April 9, 2024

FORT MYERS, Fla. (April 7, 2024) – The Tarpons struck first for the third time in as many games, but five unanswered runs by the Mighty Mussels was enough to secure the series win to open the season. Tampa (1-2) scored twice in the first inning off of Fort Myers’

FORT MYERS, Fla. (April 7, 2024) – The Tarpons struck first for the third time in as many games, but five unanswered runs by the Mighty Mussels was enough to secure the series win to open the season.

Tampa (1-2) scored twice in the first inning off of Fort Myers’ (2-1) starter Tanner Hall. The lead did not last as the Mussels immediately forced a tie in the bottom of the frame just two batters into the game. Byron Chourio led off with a single before Rayne Doncon followed with a 388-foot blast into the left field berm, tying the game at 2-2. Doncon’s home run was the first long ball of the season for the Mussels.

With one out in the bottom of the second, Angel Del Rosario connected on a single to left field, recording a hit in his first at bat in a Mussels’ jersey. Catcher Wilfri Castro followed with an RBI double to left, putting Fort Myers ahead 3-2. Chourio then pulled a base hit through the right side of the infield to put the Mussels ahead by two. Chourio led the team with six hits in the series, recording multi-hit games in all three contests.

The Mussels added another insurance run in the fourth. Castro singled to left and came around to score on a 98.9 mph double off the bat of Doncon who drove in three of the five Fort Myers runs.

Paulshawn Pasqualotto (1-0) pitched the bulk of the innings for Fort Myers as the piggybacker out of the bullpen. He went five shutout innings, allowing just two hits while striking out three to earn the win. His 88 pitches were by far the most thrown by a Mussels pitcher in the series.

Pasqualotto then handed the ball back to the bullpen for the final six outs as lefties Wilker Reyes and Samuel Perez shut the door on the Tarpons. Neither reliever allowed a hit and Perez earned his first save of the season after throwing 9 of his 11 pitches for strikes in a spotless top of the ninth. For Perez, the save was the tenth of his career.

In total, Mussels’ pitchers yielded just four hits on the day, with just one coming after the fourth inning.

The Mussels return to action on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. as the team heads to Clearwater to begin a six game series against the Threshers. Left-handed pitcher Cesar Lares will make the start for Fort Myers. Coverage begins at 6:15 p.m. on the Mighty Mussels Baseball Network.

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