Mussels weekend wrap: Series finale rained out, Dunedin takes three of five games played
Mussels, Jays series finale canceled
FORT MYERS – The Fort Myers Mighty Mussels series finale against the Dunedin Blue Jays was canceled Sunday afternoon due to wet crowds at Lee Health Sports Complex.
The contest will not be made up, meaning the Blue Jays won the series 3-2 in the five games that were completed. This also concludes the season series between the two clubs, with Fort Myers going 9-8 against Dunedin.
Tickets from the Sunday contest can be exchanged at the box office for any future 2026 Mighty Mussels home game.
The Mussels next game is Tuesday, June 16, at Steinbrenner Field against the Tampa Tarpons. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. with coverage beginning at 6:15 p.m. on the Mighty Mussels Baseball Network.
The next home game at Lee Health Sports Complex is on June 23 against the St. Lucie Mets. First pitch of that game is set for 6:05 p.m.
Jenkins homers, records four hits as Fort Myers falls to Dunedin Saturday
FORT MYERS – The Fort Myers Mighty Mussels fell by a final score of 15-5 to the Dunedin Blue Jays Saturday night at Lee Health Sports Complex.
Triple-A rehabber Walker Jenkins hit a home run in the bottom of the ninth inning, part of a four-hit night in his first game since injuring his shoulder when he collided with a wall on May 3. The Minnesota Twins No. 1 prospect (MLB No. 11) has now appeared in a game with Fort Myers (35-27) in each of the past four seasons.
Mussels’ starter Ramiro Villanueva (0-2) allowed six earned runs across 4.1 innings. The righty hit three batters, all of which would eventually score, and allowed three extra-base-hits, including a homer to Dunedin (28-34) third baseman Aldo Gaxiola.
Dunedin starter Silvano Hechavarria (2-3) rolled through five scoreless innings. The Blue Jays No. 12 prospect needed just 65 pitches while working around five hits and a walk. The Mussel offense only had three runners reach second base against Hechavarria, with none advancing to third base.
Nick McAuliffe made his Florida State League debut when he took over for Villanueva in the fifth. He worked 1.2 innings and allowed a pair of runs while striking out four batters.
Dunedin scored in each inning from the second to the fifth to take an 8-0 lead.
Eric Hammond relieved McAuliffe in the seventh and surrendered two more runs to make it 10-0 Blue Jays.
Catcher Irvin Nunez took over on the mound in the eighth. Nunez worked a scoreless inning and threw the slowest pitch in Fort Myers franchise history at 30.6 mph.
Jenkins led off the bottom of the frame with a double down the third base line, marking his third hit of the game. Ryan Sprock then crushed a two-run blast off the top of the batters eye to break up the shutout. His third homer of the season made it 10-2. Two more runners crossed in the inning, making it 10-4.
Nunez allowed five runs in the top of the ninth. Mighty Mussels’ pitching surrendered 15 runs on 16 hits Saturday, marking season-worsts in both categories.
Jenkins’ homer in the ninth inning completed a successful first rehab appearance.
Coupled with Clearwater’s 2-1 victory over Lakeland, the loss mathematically eliminates Fort Myers for the first half playoff contention.
Fireworks in Fort Myers fuel doubleheader sweep of Blue Jays Friday
FORT MYERS – The Fort Myers Mighty Mussels swept the Dunedin Blue Jays in a modified doubleheader on Friday night at Lee Health Sports Complex.
Triple-A rehabber Alan Roden went deep in the second game of today’s doubleheader. His game-tying blast in the third inning left the bat at 103.1 mph. In three games with the Mussels during his rehab stint, Roden is slashing .375/.545/.875.
Game one was a continuation of a suspended contest that resumed in the top of the fifth inning with Fort Myers (35-26) leading Dunedin (27-34), 1-0.
Game one: Fort Myers 4, Dunedin 2, 8 innings
Prior to the suspension on Thursday, Mussels’ starter Justin Mitrovich was outstanding. The reigning Minnesota Twins MiLB Pitcher of the Month threw 4.1 innings of one-run baseball, racking up four strikeouts to just one walk. His season ERA now sits at 1.08 in 25 innings.
Fort Myers took a 1-0 lead in the third when Graham Brown delivered a sacrifice fly, plating Dameury Pena.
Following the resumption on Friday, Jonathan Stevens took over on the mound with a runner on first and one out. He allowed the inherited runner to score on a two-out two-strike single from Juan Sanchez, tying the game 1-1 and closing the line on Mitrovich.
Stevens continued in the sixth and worked out of a second and third jam with nobody out. He retired the final five batters he faced, working 2.1 innings and throwing 31 of his 42 pitches for strikes.
Mike McKenna (4-3) took over with two outs in the seventh and allowed a single. Irvin Nunez erased the runner on an attempted steal of second to end the frame.
After Dunedin scored the automatic runner in the top of the eighth, the Mussels completed a come-from-behind walk-off win against Bradley Wilson (0-2).
With two on and one out, Ramiro Dominguez clobbered his sixth home run of the year at 103.4 mph over the left field berm. Dominguez’s blast marked the Mussels’ third walk-off win of the season and was the second walk-off home run.
Game two: Fort Myers 4, Dunedin 3, 7 innings
The Mighty Mussels sent Kolten Smith to the mound to make his fourth start of the year in Friday’s regularly scheduled contest. Smith registered bookend strikeouts in the first inning.
In the bottom of the second inning, Luis Fragoza got Fort Myers on the board with a 349-foot home run. Fragoza’s fifth homer of the season left the bat at a calefacient 107.2 mph.
The Blue Jays responded with a big top of the third inning against Smith. Three singles in a row loaded up the bases, and all three runners scored to give Dunedin a 3-1 advantage.
In the bottom of the third, Roden’s bomb tied the game at three.
Jake Murray (4-1) relieved Smith in the fourth inning with two outs. In the fifth inning, the southpaw recorded two key strikeouts with the go-ahead runner at third base.
The Mussels’ offense parlayed Murray’s momentous strikeouts with a rally to take the lead in the fifth against Blake Purnell (1-2). Merphy Hernandez led off the inning with a single and was brought home on a sacrifice fly by Enrique Jimenez to give Fort Myers a 4-3 advantage.
Dylan Questad came on in the sixth inning. After surrendering a leadoff walk, Questad hunkered down with two strikeouts to end the frame and preserve the lead.
Michael Hilker Jr. (S2) bent but did not break in the seventh. After allowing back-to-back singles to open the inning, Hilker Jr. punched out Herbert Perez to record the first out.
Following an intentional walk of Blue Jays No. 1 prospect JoJo Parker, Hilker Jr. induced a first-pitch, groundball double play from Aldo Gaxiola to secure the win.
Fort Myers tied the series heading into a pivotal weekend of baseball. The Mighty Mussels sit three games behind Clearwater for the Florida State League West Division First Half Championship with five games remaining.