Merphy Hernandez stole four bases, but the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels lost 12-10 to the Clearwater Threshers on Friday night at Lee Health Sports Complex. The loss ended Fort Myers’ five-game winning streak.
Fort Myers stole nine bases, one short of the franchise record of 10 set June 25, 2025, in Tampa. The Mighty Mussels lead the Florida State League with 249 steals, 10 more than the second-highest total.
Hernandez reaches four-steal milestone
Hernandez became the eighth player in franchise history to steal four bases in one game. He also stole four bases May 28 against Jupiter in the second game of a doubleheader and has 39 steals this season.
Hernandez trails Jupiter’s Andres Valor, who has 50 steals, for the Florida State League lead. Fort Myers entered the game with a 61-49 overall record and a 24-21 league record, while Clearwater entered at 63-46 overall and 24-20 in league play.
Clearwater builds a large lead
Cristian Hernandez made his Hammond Stadium debut as Fort Myers’ starting pitcher. Clearwater scored three runs before Fort Myers tied the game in the bottom of the second inning.
Vahn Lackey hit a two-run triple in the second inning, and the ball had an exit velocity of 107.6 mph, the hardest-hit ball of his professional career. Isaiah Lane added an RBI triple in the third inning, his third professional triple.
Clearwater scored one run in the fourth inning before erupting for seven runs in the fifth to take a 12-4 lead. Caden Bogenpohl hit a three-run home run with an exit velocity of 117.1 mph, the hardest-hit ball in the Clearwater Threshers’ Statcast era since 2015. Bogenpohl later added a 116.6 mph single.
Late comeback falls short
Fort Myers scored twice in the sixth inning, three times in the seventh and once in the eighth. Run-scoring singles from Colby Turner and Hernandez helped cut the deficit in the sixth, while Fort Myers reduced the margin to 12-9 in the seventh before Hernandez drove in another run in the eighth.
Adam Falinski held Clearwater scoreless over the final three innings. Fort Myers left the bases loaded in the eighth inning and could not complete the comeback despite a leadoff single from Yovanny Duran in the ninth.
The game took 3 hours and 26 minutes to complete, making it Fort Myers’ longest home game of the season. Including a 66-minute weather delay, the contest lasted 4 hours and 32 minutes and ended at 11:37 p.m.
Up next
The Fort Myers Mighty Mussels are scheduled to host the Clearwater Threshers on Saturday, Aug. 15. Ramiro Villanueva is scheduled to start for Fort Myers opposite Matthew Fisher, with first pitch set for 6:05 p.m. Coverage begins at 5:40 p.m. on the Mighty Mussels Baseball Network.
Source: Original report