Smith II drives in three ss Mussels beat Blue Jays 6-4
DUNEDIN, Fla. – JP Smith II homered and drove in three runs as the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels defeated the Dunedin Blue Jays by a final of 6-4 Wednesday Night at TD Ballpark.
Trailing 1-0 with one out in the fourth inning, Smith shot an opposite field home run into the Blue Jays (15-25) bullpen to open the scoring and make it a 1-1 game.
Dunedin would strike again in the bottom of the frame off of Mussels’ (23-17) starter Ramiro Villanueva to retake the lead 2-1 on an RBI single from Aldo Gaiola.
Villanueva allowed a pair of runs across 3.2 innings of work, striking out two. He gave way to Jake Murray (2-1) who worked a scoreless 1.1 innings in relief.
In the fifth, Henry Kusiak delivered an RBI single to left, tying the game 2-2. Smith followed with a sacrifice fly to put Fort Myers ahead 3-2.
Still leading by that score in the seventh, Damuery Pena and Ramiro Dominguez opened the frame with a single and a double. Smith then recorded his second sacrifice fly of the night to make it 4-2. A wild pitch allowed Dominguez to score and extend the lead 5-2.
Right hander Kolten Smith worked three stellar frames in relief, matching a season high with six strikeouts while not issuing a walk.
In the ninth, Dominguez recorded the Mussels third sacrifice fly of the night to further extend the lead 6-2.
Mitch Mueller allowed a pair of runs in the bottom of the frame but worked out of further trouble to secure the win.
Luis Fragoza made his Florida State League debut in center field and went 1-for-4 with a double and a run scored.
The series continues with a doubleheader today, May 21. The teams are playing two games due to a rainout Tuesday. First pitch of game one is set for 4:30 p.m. from TD Ballpark.