Eeles Homers in 3-2 Loss to Bradenton

FORT MYERS, Fla. (May 29, 2024) – Peyton Eeles connected on his second home run of the season, but a three-run seventh inning from Bradenton proved to be the difference as the Marauders won 3-2 over the Mighty Mussels Wednesday night at Hammond Stadium.

Eeles opened the scoring in the third with a 99.9 mph blast beyond the bleachers in right. The second baseman went 2-for-4 and reached base three times out of the leadoff spot. Signed by the Minnesota Twins on May 7, Eeles is batting .351 with 10 extra-base hits, 14 RBI, 13 walks, and nine stolen bases through his first 20 games (1.031 OPS).

Fort Myers (20-27) led 1-0 going into the seventh inning before Bradenton (21-26) rallied against Jack Noble (1-2). Javier Rivas led off the frame with a single up the middle and Justin Miknis followed with an infield single to put two aboard for Bradenton. A sacrifice bunt moved both men into scoring position for left fielder Braylon Bishop. Bishop connected on a 101.6 mph home run to right center to put his team ahead 3-1. The homer was the lone extra base hit allowed by Mussels pitching through the first two games of the series.

The Mussels cut the deficit to one in the eighth after an RBI groundout from Rixon Wingrove plated Brooks Lee. Lee reached base three times with two singles, a walk, and a stolen base in his second rehab game with Fort Myers.

In the ninth, Fort Myers loaded the bases on two walks and a single, putting the tying run at third and the winning run at second. Brandon Winokur rolled a sharp grounder to short and the Marauders turned a game-ending 6-4-3 double play to escape the jam.

Mussels’ starter Jose Olivares tossed four innings of shutout ball in his third start of the season. The righty picked up four strikeouts while allowing just one hit.

Samuel Perez pitched the final 2.2 innings for the Mussels. The lefty matched a season high with five strikeouts for the second consecutive outing. He now has 34 strikeouts across 27.2 innings.

The Mussels return to action on Thursday at 7:05 p.m. Left-hander Cesar Lares (1-1, 2.31 ERA) takes the mound for Fort Myers, opposite Carlson Reed (3-1, 2.02 ERA) of Bradenton. Coverage begins at 6:45 p.m. on the Mighty Mussels Baseball Network.