Mussels Drop Series Opener to Tarpons 15-4

FORT MYERS, Fla. (June 25, 2024) – The Fort Myers Mighty Mussels’ four-game winning streak was snapped Tuesday, dropping their series opener against the Tampa Tarpons 15-4 at Hammond Stadium.

The Tarpons (26-43, 2-1) had all nine starters reach base and eight of the nine scored as Tampa scored 13 unanswered runs from the third through sixth inning after Fort Myers (34-35, 3-1) took an early lead. The loss was the first of the second half of the season for Fort Myers as the Mussels were the last undefeated team in the Florida State League. The 15 runs scored matched a season high for the Tarpons.

In a scoreless game, Walker Jenkins led off the bottom of the first with a single up the middle. Byron Chourio followed with a first-pitch bunt single to put two aboard. After a caught stealing, Poncho Ruiz worked a walk to put men at first and second. Matthew Clayton then opened the scoring with a 104.5 mph double to left field, putting the Mussels ahead 2-0.

Tampa got a run back in the second on a solo homer from Jackson Castillo to make it a 2-1 game.

In the bottom of the second, Isaac Pena led off with a single up the middle. Two batters later, Angel Del Rosario pulled a double down the third base line, plating Pena and putting Fort Myers back in front by two.

Mussels’ starter Ricky Castro (2-1) was unable to hold the lead as Tampa sent seven men to the plate in the third. Coby Morales reached on an error to start the frame and turned the lineup over to George Lombaro Jr., who followed with a single. The next batter, Enmanuel Tejeda connected on a sacrifice fly to center to make it a 3-2. Roderick Arias then pulled a single to right to tie the game 3-3. Third baseman Dylan Jasso followed with an opposite field two-run home run to put Tampa ahead 5-3.

Tampa starter Gabriel Barbosa (3-7) settled in after having the lead, retiring the side in order in the third. That began a streak of five straight scoreless innings from Tarpon pitching. Barbosa threw 5+ innings for the fifth time in his last six appearances.

In the fifth, it was Jasso again who burned the Mussels, this time connecting on a three-run homer to make it an 8-3 game. The blast was 101.9 mph off the bat as it cleared the wall in left-center. The Tarpons then batted around in the sixth inning and scored six runs off of Ross Dunn to take a 14-3 lead.

Fort Myers got a run back in the eighth on an RBI single from Ruiz to make it 14-4. The Tarpons responded with a run in the ninth on a double from Morales to make it 15-4.

The Mussels return to action on Wednesday at 7:05 p.m. Tanner Hall (0-0, 4.08) takes the ball for Fort Myers, opposite Bryce Warrecker (0-1, 5.79) of Tampa. Coverage begins at 6:45 p.m. on The Mighty Mussels Baseball Network.