Houghton, Winokur Homer in Seesaw 8-7 Loss to Threshers

April 10, 2024 - Florida State League (FSL)
Fort Myers Mighty Mussels News Release

CLEARWATER, Fla. - Maddux Houghton and Brandon Winokur homered to highlight another Mussels' comeback, but the Clearwater Threshers responded in the eighth to win 8-7 at BayCare Ballpark.

Fort Myers (3-2) trailed 5-1 going into the seventh before the bats caught fire. Yohander Martinez led off with a single to left before Angel Del Rosario beat out an infield hit to put two men on. The next batter was Houghton, who lifted a three-run homer into the seats in left to make it 5-4. Byron Chourio followed by lining a triple to the wall in left center. Three batters later, Winokur cranked a two-run shot inside the left field pole to give the Mussels a 6-5 lead.

Still up by that margin in the top of the eighth, Rafael Cruz dropped a single into right. After a walk and a Del Rosario bunt single loaded the bases, Houghton grounded out to third to score Cruz and extend the lead to 7-5.

Up by two, Fort Myers turned to closer Xander Hamilton (0-1) in the eighth. After quickly retiring the first two batters, Hamilton clipped Dakota Kotowski with a pitch. Nikau Pouaka-Grego then walked to put two men on. With two outs and two on, Luis Caicuto popped up a ball into shallow right field. Houghton dove to try and make the catch, but the ball rolled behind him. Both runners scored to tie the game 7-7. The next batter was Trent Farquhar, who ripped a single into center to give Clearwater an 8-7 lead.

The Threshers built their initial lead by scoring five runs on nine hits against Fort Myers' starting pitcher Ty Langenberg. Reliever Wilker Reyes bridged the gap by tossing two scoreless innings before Clearwater re-gained the lead against Hamilton.

The Mussels' loss snaps their three-game winning streak. Wednesday would have marked their fourth consecutive come-from-behind win.

Fort Myers will look to bounce back at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday. LHP Ross Dunn (0-0, 2.25) makes the start for the Mussels, opposed by RHP Jake Eddington (0-0, 6.75) of Clearwater. Coverage begins at 6:15 p.m. on the Mighty Mussels Baseball Network.

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