Stankiewicz, Cavaco Lead Mussels To 6-5 Opening Night Win in Clearwater

CLEARWATER, Fla. (April 8, 2022) - John Stankiewicz struck out a career-high eight and Keoni Cavaco notched three hits and three RBI to lead the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels to a 6-5 Opening Night win over the Clearwater Threshers at BayCare Ballpark.

Cavaco and fellow first-round pick Noah Miller each stroked three hits in their season debuts, with Cavaco providing the biggest swing of the night. In a scoreless game in the top of the third, Cavaco drilled a bases-clearing double off the wall in right center to put Fort Myers (1-0) up 3-0.

Stankiewicz (1-0) completed five strong innings to earn the win, retiring seven of the final eight batters he faced.

The Mussels (1-0) continued to build their lead in the middle innings, getting an RBI single from *Kyle Schmidt *in the fourth to stretch the lead to 4-2.

Leading by the same margin in the fifth, Cavaco reached on an infield single before Kala’i Rosario drilled an RBI triple to the fence to extend the lead to 6-2.

Clearwater (0-1) battled back, getting a solo home run from Jadiel Sanchez in the sixth to make it 6-3.

In the bottom of the seventh, Threshers designated hitter Felix Reyes led off with a triple to the wall before Marcus Lee Sang drove him in with an RBI single to left. Two batters later, Yhoswar Garcia plated Lee Sang with a fielder’s choice to cap the scoring at 6-5.

Mussels reliever Matthew Swain did the rest, fanning three over two hitless innings to secure his first save of the season.

The Mussels will go for the series win against Clearwater on Saturday. David Festa is scheduled to pitch for Fort Myers, opposed by Phillies’ first-round pick Andrew Painter. Coverage begins at 6:15 p.m. on the Mighty Mussels Baseball Network.