PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (July 24, 2026) - The Fort Myers Mighty Mussels logged the second 200 stolen base season in franchise history as they defeated the St. Lucie Mets 9-3 on Friday night at Clover Park.
Leading 1-0 in the fifth inning, Luis Fragoza cleared the bases with a double to add to the Fort Myers (50-42, 13-14) lead. The left fielder then swiped third to secure the 200th stolen base of the season for the Mussels.
It is the second time in franchise history (since 1992) that Fort Myers has recorded 200 stolen bases in a season. The Mussels set a franchise record with 236 steals in 2025 and are on pace to challenge that record this season.Â
Musselsâ catcher Irvin Nunez opened the scoring with a solo blast in the second. His fourth home run of the year left the bat at 101 mph and traveled 400 feet to straight away left field.Â
Fort Myersâ starter Jason Reitz retired the first five Mets (43-50, 10-17) he faced to begin his outing. The righty needed just 35 pitches to navigate the first three innings, facing just one batter above the minimum.Â
Reitz ran into trouble in the fourth. With one out, he issued three consecutive walks, all of which came on full counts. Reitz then retired the next two batters to escape the jam, but he threw 34 pitches in the inning, wrapping his outing. With his performance today, Reitz lowered his season ERA down to 2.76 in 32.2 IP.Â
Luis Hernandez led off the fifth inning with a double. Two batters later Ramiro Dominguez was hit by a pitch and Byron Chourio followed with a single to load the bases. Fragoza then connected on his bases-clearing double to make it 4-0, before stealing the Musselsâ 200th base of the season.
The Mets responded with two runs in the bottom of the frame off Musselsâ reliever Billy Oldham to cut the lead in half.Â
The next inning, Quentin Young led off with a single. Nunez followed with a double down the left field line, scoring Young from first. Two batters later, Harry Genth blasted a two-run shot to left to make it 7-2. His second homer of the year left the bat at 104 mph.
Leading off the seventh, Jhomnardo Reyes connected on his first Florida State League hit. A groundout and a pair of wild pitches brought the 18-year-old outfielder home to move the score to 8-2. A Met error plated the ninth Musselsâ run of the game.Â
Nick McAuliffe (2-0) took over on the mound in the bottom of the seventh and picked up two strikeouts over 1.1 innings of work. Mike McKenna was the next man out of the bullpen, and he struck out four Mets while covering the final 1.2 innings.
The series continues on Saturday, July 25. Ramiro Villanueva (4.81) starts for the Mussels, opposite Ethan Lanthier(4.66) who starts for the Mets. First pitch is set for 6:10 p.m. with coverage beginning at 5:55 p.m. on the Mighty Mussels Baseball Network.Â