Mussels Drop Series Opener in Bradenton 7-3

BRADENTON, Fla. (April 30, 2024) – Spencer Bengard struck out seven in his Low-A debut Tuesday, but the Mighty Mussels dropped the series opener 7-3 to the Bradenton Marauders at LECOM Park.

Bengard entered in relief for Twins’ rehabber Josh Winder (0-1), and twirled 3.1 innings of one-run ball, with his only blemish coming on a solo home run from Garret Forrester.

Winder, meanwhile, tossed 33 pitches over 1.2 innings, fanning four while allowing two runs.

Bradenton (5-17) jumped in front in the first when Josh Palacios pulled a double off the first base bag. Two batters later, Forrester drilled a single to center to make it 1-0. The next batter was Esmerlyn Valdez, who doubled down the left field line to make it 2-0.

After the Forrester homer extended the lead to 3-0, the Mussels (8-14) got an infield single from Jose Rodriguez with two outs in the sixth. Poncho Ruiz followed by blasting a double off the center field fence to make it 3-1.

The Marauders quickly responded in the bottom of the inning when Kalae Harrison yanked a solo homer inside the right field pole to extend the lead 4-1.

Bradenton took advantage of a fielding error from Isaac Pena in the bottom of the seventh to prolong the inning for Shalin Polanco to demolish a three-run homer and extend the lead to 7-1.

Fort Myers fought back in the eighth. Brandon Winokur drilled a double to the wall in center before Rodriguez drove in Winokur on a fielding error by Harrison. After a Ruiz single moved Rodriguez to third, a wild pitch brought him home to cap the scoring at 7-3.

The Mussels will look to bounce back and even the series at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Coverage begins at 6:15 p.m. on the Mighty Mussels Baseball Network.