CLEARWATER, Fla. (July 1, 2026) - The Fort Myers Mighty Mussels fell by a 6-1 score against the Clearwater Threshers on Wednesday night at BayCare Ballpark, snapping a five-game winning streak.
Mussels’ (44-31, 7-3) shortstop Quentin Young reached base three times with a homer and two walks in the defeat. The Mighty Mussels’ five-game winning streak was one shy of matching the season high of six consecutive wins, which had been done twice.
Ryan Sprock (21 games) and JP Smith II (14 games) both saw their on-base streaks come to a close. Sprock was three games off tying Byron Chourio and Nick Miller for the third longest on-base streak in the Mussels’ era (since 2020).
Clearwater (45-31, 5-6) struck first for the second time in as many games, scoring a run in the second inning off of Mussels' starter Ramiro Villanueva (0-3). The 20-year-old later escaped a bases loaded jam to limit the damage in the frame. The Threshers added a run on a sacrifice fly from Matthew Ferrera in the third, moving the game to 2-0.
Leading off the fourth, Young put a blast into the Mussels’ bullpen to make it 2-1. The 19-year-old prospect now has 10 homers on the season and is tied with Jayson Bass for the team lead. The duo sit two homers away from third place in the Mussels’ era, trailing Kala’i Rosario, who hit 12 in 2022.
The Threshers added to their lead in the bottom of the frame. A two-out error extended the inning and Robert Phelps capitalized with a two-run homer to make it 4-1 and chase Villanueva from the game. The righty, who was making his 11th start, threw a season high 70 pitches in the outing. Only two of the four runs he allowed were earned.
Brent Francisco was the first man out of the Fort Myers’ bullpen. Francisco wrapped up the fourth and worked a clean fifth before Clearwater added to their lead with two runs in the sixth, extending the margin to 6-1. Both runs were unearned.
In total, only two of the six Thresher runs were earned on the night.
Mike McKenna went six-up-six-down across the seventh and eighth innings while throwing 15 of his 17 pitches for strikes.
The series continues on Thursday, July 2. Jason Reitz (1.96) starts for the Mussels, opposite Brad Pacheco (4.87) who takes the mound for the Threshers. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. with coverage beginning at 6:15 p.m. on the Mighty Mussels Baseball Network.