Mussels Finish 2023 Season with 67-64 Record

September 12, 2023

FORT MYERS, Fla. (September 10, 2023) – Walker Jenkins finished his season with two more hits and one RBI in the season finale Sunday, but the Mighty Mussels fell 5-3 to the Bradenton Marauders at Hammond Stadium. Since his promotion to Single-A on August 23, Jenkins slashed .392/.446/.608 with one

FORT MYERS, Fla. (September 10, 2023) – Walker Jenkins finished his season with two more hits and one RBI in the season finale Sunday, but the Mighty Mussels fell 5-3 to the Bradenton Marauders at Hammond Stadium.

Since his promotion to Single-A on August 23, Jenkins slashed .392/.446/.608 with one homer, 10 RBI, and three triples over 12 games played. In the process, he struck out just six times amongst 56 plate appearances (10.7%).

With no score in the top of the fourth, the Marauders (76-54, 41-24) loaded the bases on two walks and a hit batter. With one out in the inning, reliever Develson Aria sent a wild pitch to the back stop that scored Lonnie White Jr. to put Bradenton up 1-0. After a walk to Kalae Harrison, Esmerlyn Valdez sent a roller to short. After the Mussels (67-64, 33-32) recorded one out on a force play at second, *Yohander Martinez’s *relay to first was wide and went into the first base dugout to push across two more runs for the Marauders to make it 3-0.

In the bottom of the fifth, Ricardo Olivar doubled to the wall in left with two outs. The next hitter was Nate Baez, who sent a sharp liner to center to score Olivar and make it 3-1.

In the bottom of the seventh, *Jay Harry *led off with a single to center. Jenkins followed with a ringing triple to right center to cut the deficit to 3-2. With the tying run 90 feet away, Olivar proceeded to send a sacrifice fly to right to tie the game at 3-3.

The Marauders answered back immediately in the top of the eighth when Enmanuel Terrero singled and Charles McAdoo doubled to begin the frame. With no outs, Omar Alfonzo lifted a sacrifice fly to left that gave Bradenton a 4-3 lead. On the play, McAdoo advanced to third, allowing him to score on a sacrifice fly from Kalae Harrison that extended the lead 5-3.

Despite the loss, the Mussels completed their third consecutive winning season under manager Brian Meyer, racing to the finish line with a record of 17-8 in their final 25 games.

Stay tuned to MightyMussels.com for the reveal of the 2024 schedule as well as the announcement of upcoming events and promotions.