BRADENTON, Fla. (August 7, 2026) - The Fort Myers Mighty Mussels split their doubleheader against the Bradenton Marauders on Friday night at LECOM Park.
In game one, Quentin Young set a franchise record for exit velocity. His 14th homer of the year left the bat at 115.8 mph, beating Carson Tinney who had just set the record on Sunday at 114.9. Young now has five homers with exit velocities above 111 mph this season. The Minnesota Twins’ No. 11 prospect trails only JP Smith II (15 HR earlier this season) for the most homers in a season since the franchise switched to Single-A in 2020.
Due to an hour and 45 minute weather delay prior to game one, game two did not conclude until 12:05 a.m., marking the latest finish of the season and surpassing the 11:53 p.m. wrap on May 30.
GAME ONE: FTM 6 - BRD 4
Mussels’ starter Matt Barr went 3+ innings and allowed four runs (two earned) while picking up a pair of strikeouts. Young's homer in the fourth briefly put Fort Myers ahead 2-1 before Bradenton struck for three runs in the bottom of the frame to make it 4-2.
In the fifth, Isaiah Lane tripled to right-center, plating Bryce Fowler. Three batters later, Twins’ No. 28 prospect Yovanny Duran connected on his first FSL homer, a go-ahead three-run blast to make it 6-4.
Matthew Dalquist (3-3) took over with two men aboard in the third and covered the final four innings. After allowing one inherited runner to score, he kept Bradenton off the board for the rest of the game. Dalquist struck out three Marauders while throwing 34 of his 51 pitches for strikes.
GAME TWO: BRD 7 - FTM 3
Mussels’ starter Cristian Hernandez allowed a run in the first after walking two batters, hitting another, and committing an error. The righty did punch out two, but needed 33 pitches to navigate in his first FSL inning.
Trailing 1-0 with two-outs in the top of the second, Merphy Hernandez connected on a two-run single to put Fort Myers ahead.
C. Hernandez exited after 2.1 innings. The 21-year-old struck out four of the final five batters he faced and the lone run he allowed was unearned.
In the fourth, Aidan Teel and M. Hernandez executed a double steal to draw home the third Fort Myers’ run of the game.
Adam Falinksi worked 1.2 innings of one-run ball, holding the lead.
Melvin Rodriguez (0-1) took over in the fifth for his FSL debut. The 20-year-old allowed three runs, including a go-ahead home run from Antonio Pimentel to flip the lead 5-3.
Bradenton added another two runs off Rodriguez in the sixth to extend the margin 7-3.
UP NEXT:
The series continues on Saturday, August 8. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. with coverage beginning at 6:15 p.m. on the Mighty Mussels Baseball Network.