FSL Fort Myers Mighty Mussels

Fort Myers Secures Series Win in Convincing 8-5 Victory Over Dunedin

Published on April 8, 2023 under Florida State League (FSL)
Fort Myers Mighty Mussels News Release


FORT MYERS, Fla. - In front of 3,261 fans at Hammond Stadium Saturday, Mussels starting pitcher Zebby Matthews earned his first professional win, spinning five scoreless innings of three-hit baseball in an 8-5 win over the Dunedin Blue Jays.

With the game deadlocked 0-0 with two outs in the top of the fifth, Matthews (1-0) retired Nic Deschamps on a lineout to the right field to complete five innings of work. He set down the last six hitters he faced and completed the night with seven strikeouts and zero walks in his first professional start.

Looking to score the first run of the ballgame, Mussels (2-1) shortstop Danny De Andrade and Twins rehabber Jorge Polanco drew back-to-back walks. That set the stage for Ricardo Olivar with one out, who sliced a soft flyball into shallow right field to bring around De Andrade to give Fort Myers a 1-0 lead.

One batter later, Carlos Aguiar stepped to the plate with runners on first and second and grounded a single through the right side to drive in Polanco and make it 2-0. With runners on second and third, Rubel Cespedes greeted Dunedin (1-2) reliever Kevin Perez with a bang, lining his first pitch of the night into left field to bring in both Olivar and Aguiar and extend the lead to 4-0.

After an Andrew Cossetti single, the Mussels sent Dalton Shuffield to the plate, who slapped a line drive to right field that scored Cespedes from second to cap the inning at 5-0.

Leading by five with two outs in the bottom of the sixth, Olivar and Aguiar delivered back-to-back singles, setting up a first-and-third situation. With Ortega at the plate, Aguiar stole second base, drawing a throw from the Blue Jays catcher Deschamps. In the process, Olivar took off for home and slid in safely without a throw to tack on Fort Myers' sixth run of the night.

With a 6-0 advantage in the bottom of the seventh, Cespedes singled and Cossetti doubled to place two runners in scoring position. Shuffield singled in Cespedes from third with a line-drive single to right, notching his second RBI of the evening and making it a 7-0 lead for the Mussels. After a walk to De Andrade, Cossetti scored from third base on a wild pitch to put Fort Myers up 8-0.

The Blue Jays battled back with five runs on five hits in the top of the ninth to avoid the shutout. However, Mussels' reliever Zach Veen came in to slam the door by striking out Tucker Toman to secure the series victory.

Fort Myers will enjoy two days off and travel to Clearwater on Tuesday to begin a six-game series with the Threshers at 6:30 p.m. Coverage begins at 6:15 p.m. on the Mighty Mussels Baseball Network.

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Florida State League Stories from April 8, 2023


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