Late Tarpons' Homers Topple Mussels in 9-7 Loss
June 24, 2023 - Florida State League (FSL)
Fort Myers Mighty Mussels News Release
TAMPA, Fla. - Despite strong performances from Rafael Cruz and Mikey Perez, the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels lost their lead late after two clutch homers led the Tampa Tarpons to a 9-7 victory Saturday at Steinbrenner Field.
Cruz finished with two extra-base hits and drove in three. Perez reached base in four of his five plate appearances and scored twice as well.
After the Mussels (35-35, 0-2) took the lead in the top of the eighth, Anthony Hall and Christopher Familia each pummeled two-run homers to give the Tarpons (33-35, 2-0) a 9-6 lead. Despite pushing across one more run in the top of the ninth, Fort Myers stranded the tying run at first.
With no score and one out in the top of the second, Kyle Schmidt walked and Mikey Perez singled and advanced on an error to place runners and second and third. Dylan Neuse then served a fly ball to left center that was deep enough to score Schmidt from third and give the Mussels a 1-0 lead.
In the bottom of half of the same frame, starter Develson Aria allowed a single and hit two batters to load the bases with one out. Ronny Rojas then rolled a soft grounder up the middle and Mussels second basemen Kamron Willman made the diving stop towards his right. Willman's flip towards second landed short which allowed two runs to score to give the Tarpons a 2-1 lead.
After a ground out and a walk the bases were loaded for Anthony Hall. On the first pitch he saw, he seared a ground ball into right field that pushed across to more runs to double the Tampa lead to 4-1.
Looking to chip away with two outs in the top of the third, De Andrade launched an opposite-field homer to right which cut the deficit to two. The round tripper gave him five on the season and his third of the month.
Still down by two in the top of the fourth, Cruz led off the frame with a mammoth solo-shot down the left-field line to make it 4-3. The ball left Cruz's bat a 102.7 miles per hour and traveled 395 feet.
Later in the frame, Perez walked to place the tying run on base. With Dylan Neuse at the dish, Perez took off for second as Neuse subsequently smoked a liner into the gap in right center. Perez scored on the triple to tie the game at 4-4.
In the top of the fifth, De Andrade singled with one out. Two hitters and one out later, he took off on the pitch and Cruz reached well out of the strike zone to hook a line-drive double down the left field line. De Andrade scored all the way from first to give the Mussels a 5-4 lead.
Reliever Jarret Whorff was stellar in relief, tossing a career-high 3.2 shutout innings to hold the lead at one through the seventh. He allowed just two hits and fanned four.
With the same score in the bottom of the seventh, Christopher Familia doubled on a fly ball to right that Neuse lost in the twilight skies. After Familia advanced to third on a wild pitch, Brenny Escanio drove in the game's tying run with a sac fly to right to make it 5-5.
In the top of the eighth, Perez singled to center and then stole second with two outs. The next hitter was Willman who grounded a single to center to score Perez and give the Mussels a 6-5 advantage, before Tampa took the lead in the bottom of the eighth.
The Mussels will look to salvage a series split tomorrow as they send C.J. Culpepper (3-3, 2.68) to the hill against Tampa's Baron Stuart (1-4, 5.82). First pitch is set for noon with coverage beginning at 11:45 a.m. on the Mighty Mussels Baseball Network.
Florida State League Stories from June 24, 2023
- It's Hall in the Familia Tampa Rallies Late Again, Win 9-7 - Tampa Tarpons
- It's Hall in the Familia! Tampa Rallies Late Again, Win 9-7 - Tampa Tarpons
- Late Tarpons' Homers Topple Mussels in 9-7 Loss - Fort Myers Mighty Mussels
- Crawford's Two RBIs Help Threshers Cruise to Victory - Clearwater Threshers
- Harbin's Clutch Pitching Secures Narrow Win for Bradenton - Bradenton Marauders
- Space Night Postponed Due to Inclement Weather - Jupiter Hammerheads
- Mets, Hammerheads Rained out on Saturday - St. Lucie Mets
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