Grizzlies Blitz ThunderBolts to Take Crucial Rubber Game
August 24, 2023 - Frontier League (FL)
Gateway Grizzlies News Release
Sauget, IL - The Gateway Grizzlies scored six runs in the first three innings on Thursday night at Grizzlies Ballpark, and on a night where they brought back members of the 2003 Frontier League Championship team, put forth a sterling team effort in beating the Windy City ThunderBolts 10-3 to take the critical series finale.
In the first inning against Adrien Reese (0-5), Gateway pounced right away, as Jairus Richards led off with a single, went to second base on a ground ball, and scored on an RBI single by Cole Brannen for a 1-0 lead. Clint Freeman then announced his return to the lineup with a bang, hitting an RBI double down the left field line that scored Brannen from first base and made the score 2-0.
The Grizzlies would continue to score against Reese in the next couple innings, with Eric Rivera driving in one run in the second with a clutch, two-out double for a 3-0 Gateway lead. After Windy City got a run back in the top of the third, D.J. Stewart got an RBI single for a 4-1 advantage in the bottom half, and was followed two batters later by Willie Estrada, who brought in two more runs with a two-out single, giving the home team a 6-1 cushion.
Parker Johnson (2-3) took the early run support and ran with it, allowing just one run on three hits in the first five innings on the mound with eight strikeouts in that span. After he surrendered two runs in the top of the sixth, putting Windy City within 6-3, Gateway struck with two outs in the bottom of the frame to pull away, with Kyle Gaedele mashing a three-run home run to left field and Stewart following with his third home run of the series, a solo shot to left-center field that made the score 10-3.
Every single player in the Grizzlies lineup had at least one hit as part of a 14-hit attack offensively, while six players finished with at least one RBI, and seven scored at least one run. Johnson earned his second-straight win with a "quality start" of six innings pitched, two earned runs allowed on five hits, one walk, and nine strikeouts.
Now with a three-game lead over the second-place Schaumburg Boomers in the West Division standings, the Grizzlies will look to ride their momentum into the weekend as they travel up to Schaumburg for their final road series of the season. First pitch of the crucial three-game head-to-head series is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT at Wintrust Field, with ace right-hander Collin Sullivan drawing the starting assignment in game one against Schaumburg's Antonio Frias.
Frontier League Stories from August 24, 2023
- Late Comeback Falls Short, Titans Drop Finale to Jackals - Ottawa Titans
- Grizzlies Blitz ThunderBolts to Take Crucial Rubber Game - Gateway Grizzlies
- Grizzlies Scrape Windy City 10-3 - Windy City ThunderBolts
- Otters' Rally Ends Short to Slammers - Evansville Otters
- Crushers Cruise to Second Road Series Win of Year - Lake Erie Crushers
- Big Innings Sink Y'alls in Series Defeat - Florence Y'alls
- 'Cats Rubber Game Against Capitales Has Been Canceled - Tri-City ValleyCats
- Boomers Drop Scorcher - Schaumburg Boomers
- Washington Takes Finale, Season Series against Boomers - Washington Wild Things
- Winnecke to be Presented League Wide Award - Evansville Otters
- Grizzlies Clinch First Playoff Berth Since 2012 - Gateway Grizzlies
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