FORT MYERS, Fla. (August 11, 2026) - The Fort Myers Mighty Mussels defeated the Clearwater Threshers by a final score of 2-1 on Tuesday night at Lee Health Sports Complex.
Fort Myers (59-48, 22-20) sent Matthew Dalquist to the mound for his ninth start of the season. Dalquist retired the side in the first inning.
In the bottom of the first inning, Yovanny Duran led off the inning with a walk, then stole second base and advanced to third on a throwing error by Clearwater’s (63-44, 23-18) catcher.
Minnesota Twins 2026 1st rounder Vahn Lackey drove Duran in on a sacrifice fly to put Fort Myers up 1-0. After a single from Ramiro Dominguez, Luis Fragoza doubled to left to make it 2-0.
Dalquist allowed a run in the second on back-to-back doubles. He worked out of further trouble by leaving the bases loaded, holding the 2-1 lead.
After the first two batters reached against Dalquist in the third, he induced a double play ball and fly out to retire the side. He needed 61 pitches to navigate three frames, marking his most pitches in an outing since May 21.
Brent Francisco (8-2) worked the fourth through sixth inning and retired nine of the 10 batters he faced. The righty matched a season-high in innings while throwing 21 of his 28 pitches for strikes.
Brad Rudis made his Hammond Stadium debut as the second man out of the bullpen. Rudis struck out four men in two perfect frames.
In the eighth, Colby Turner poked a single through the left side of the infield with two outs, then swiped second base. This snapped a streak of 10 consecutive hitters retired by Clearwater pitching.
Turner’s steal is No. 232 for the Mighty Mussels this season, drawing closer to the all-time record of 236 set by last year’s team.
Adam Falinski (S4) took over in the ninth inning. An infield single from Caden Bogenpohl to lead off the inning broke a string of 13 consecutive hitters retired by Fort Myers’ pitching.
Falinski ended up stranding the tying run at second, wrapping up his fourth save in as many opportunities.
Fort Myers has now won three consecutive games and are five games behind the Tampa Tarpons for first place in the FSL West Second Half standings.
UP NEXT: The series continues on Wednesday, August 12. Eric Hammond (4.86) starts for the Mussels, opposite Cole Gilley (3.55). First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. with coverage beginning at 6:40 p.m. on the Mighty Mussels Baseball Network.