Wilkinson Shuts Down Mighty Mussels in Second-Straight Ten-Inning Win

WP: Danny Wilkinson (4-0, 5.94)

LP: Develson Aria (2-5, 8.78

BOX SCORE:

FORT MYERS, FL – 3.0 shutout innings and five strikeouts from Danny Wilkinson and a grand slam from Felix Reyes helped the Clearwater Threshers (57-26, 12-5) take their second straight win 10-8 in ten innings over the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels (42-42, 8-10) on Sunday afternoon at Hammond Stadium. The Threshers return home to host the Tampa Tarpons in a six-game series at BayCare Ballpark that begins on Tuesday.

The Mighty Mussels slugged two home runs in the first to take a 3-0 lead early on. Troy Schreffler led off the fifth with a walk against Mighty Mussels reliever Juan Mercedes. Matt Alifano reached on an infield single before Kliubert Avila drove him home with a base knock to put the Threshers on the board 3-1. Justin Crawford loaded the bases with a single, and Reyes cleared them with a go-ahead grand slam that gave the Threshers a 5-3 lead.

Cade Fergus continued the rally with a two-out infield single and stole second during William Bergolla’s at-bat. He reached third on a passed ball before scoring on a bunt single by Bergolla that extended the Threshers advantage to 6-3.

Alifano led off the sixth with a single off Mighty Mussels reliever Samuel Perez and moved to second on a groundout. He advanced to third on a single by Emaarion Boyd and scored when Crawford hit into a fielder’s choice to bring the Threshers lead up to 7-3.

Reyes sent the first pitch of the seventh inning into right-center field for a leadoff single and moved to second on a wild pitch. After Johnathan Lavalee came on to replace Perez, Bergolla sent the first pitch he saw into left field to score Reyes and give the Threshers an 8-3 advantage.

The Mighty Mussels tied the game up at eight with five runs in the bottom of the seventh. The game stayed tied and went to extras for the second-straight day. Fergus began the frame on second as the extra runner and moved to third when Bergolla led off the frame with a single off Fort Myers reliever Develson Aria. Both runners advanced on a balk, allowing the Threshers to retake the lead at 9-8.

Troy Schreffler and Avila walked to load the bases and Crawford reached on an infield hit to double the lead to 10-8. Despite loading the bases in the bottom of the tenth, Danny Wilkinson struck out the final batter to secure the 10-8 win.

Oswald Medina allowed three runs on four hits with five strikeouts in 4.0 innings in a no-decision. Braeden Fausnaught allowed two hits and walked two with two strikeouts in 2.0 shutout innings. Josh Bortka walked two without recording an out in the seventh and allowed three runs. Seth Nightingale allowed two runs on two hits with two walks in 1.0 inning and took a blown save. Wilkinson (4-0) earned the win in 3.0 shutout innings, allowing one hit with three walks and five strikeouts.

Wilkinson’s 61 pitches were the most by a Threshers reliever this season... Only Fort Myers starter Andrew Morris (64) threw more in the game...Reyes grand slam was the fourth for the Threshers this season...It was the third on the road and second go-ahead slam...Bergolla tied his season-high with two RBIs...Avila recorded his first multi-hit game of the season...Alifano extended his on-base streak to four games...He has scored every time he reached base during that streak...The Threshers begin a 12-game homestand against the Tampa Tarpons (Yankees, A) on Tuesday, July 18th... First pitch is at 6:30 pm EST... You can purchase tickets for Threshers games at ThreshersBaseball.com/tickets or by calling 727-467-4457.