FSL1 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels

Blue Jays Fend off Late Rally to Beat Miracle, 7-5

Published on May 22, 2014 under Florida State League (FSL1)
Fort Myers Mighty Mussels News Release


DUNEDIN, Fla. (May 22, 2014) - The Dunedin Blue Jays held off a late surge from the Fort Myers Miracle on Thursday night to win 7-5 at Florida Auto Exchange Stadium.

The Blue Jays notched a run in the bottom of the first inning off Miracle starter Alex Wimmers. Dwight Smith, Jr. earned a walk, Kevin Patterson was hit by a pitch and Derrick Chung coaxed a free pass to load the bases. On a 2-2 pitch, Emilio Guerrero hit a grounder to the left side. Niko Goodrum made a diving stop, but had no throw and a run scored, 1-0.

In the second, Gustavo Pierre led off with a double into left center. Christian Lopes slapped a two-bagger down the right field line to bring in Pierre. Dalton Pompey followed with a single up the middle to push the Dunedin lead to 3-0.

The Miracle got on the board in the fourth as a result of a throwing error from Pierre. With one out, Dalton Hicks doubled off the wall in left. After Dunedin starter Kendall Graveman struck out Niko Goodrum, Adam Brett Walker hit a bouncer to deep third. Pierre fielded cleanly, but threw low to first. Walker was awarded a hit and Hicks scored on the wild throw, 3-1.

Dunedin extended the advantage in the fourth inning against Wimmers (2-3). With two outs, Wimmers walked K.C. Hobson and Kevin Patterson. Chung struck a drive into the gap in left center for a ground rule double and scoring Hobson. Guerrero then dropped a single into center to bring in a pair of runs, 6-1.

Wimmers was finished after four innings, allowing six runs on seven hits with five walks and four strikeouts.

Mason Melotakis entered in the fifth and allowed a two-out RBI triple to Smith, Jr. to push the Dunedin lead to 7-1.

Fort Myers stormed back with four runs in the sixth. Jorge Polanco started with a double into center field and moved to third on a single from Travis Harrison. The base hit for Harrison extended his hitting streak to 12 games. With runners on the corners, Hicks hit a deep fly to center that brought in Polanco. The sacrifice fly for Hicks notched his 18th RBI of the season.

After Goodrum struck out, Walker launched a 1-1 pitch from Graveman (3-1) over fence in center field for a two-run homer. The blast was Walker's eighth of the season. Dunedin turned to Danny Barnes in the bullpen after Walker's homer. Barnes surrendered a solo homer to Mike Gonzales to cut the Blue Jays lead to 7-5. The Gonzales bomb to left center marked the first time the Miracle have hit back-to-back long balls in the 2014 season.

The Blue Jays bullpen shut the door the rest of the game including a three strikeout ninth for closer Arik Sikula, registering his FSL leading 14th save.

The Miracle (25-21) aim for the series split on Friday night at Florida Auto Exchange Stadium with a 6:30 p.m. first pitch against the Blue Jays (33-13). Fans can tune into every pitch with the 'Voice of the Miracle' Brice Zimmerman on www.miraclebaseball.com. The Head Quarters pregame show begins at 6:05 p.m.

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Florida State League Stories from May 22, 2014


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