Grizzlies Blow Lead Late, Fall in Heartbreaking Loss
May 25, 2025 - Frontier League (FL)
Gateway Grizzlies News Release
SCHAUMBURG, ILL. - The Gateway Grizzlies lost back-to-back games for the first time all season long and dropped their first series of 2025 as a result, giving away a 3-0 lead in the eighth inning and losing 5-4 in heartbreaking fashion on a throwing error in the 10th inning by Ross Friedrick on Sunday night at Wintrust Field.
Gateway got on the board first in the second inning thanks to a sacrifice fly by Dale Thomas at 1-0, and would also plate single runs in the fourth inning on a two-out RBI single by Thomas and in the top of the sixth inning when with a runner at third base, Edwin Mateo popped up a ball to pitcher Cole Cook in foul territory, and no one covered home plate, allowing Victor Castillo to scamper home to make the score 3-0.
Meanwhile, Gage Vailes was utterly brilliant on the mound for the Grizzlies, firing a career-high six shutout innings, allowing just three hits and one walk with three strikeouts. But after a scoreless seventh inning from Alec Whaley, things fell apart in the bottom of the eighth.
Leoni De La Cruz walked the bases loaded in the frame, and with one out, Anthony Calarco hit a ground ball that just stayed fair down the first base line, clearing the bases and tying the game at 3-3.
Sam Coonrod was able to toss a scoreless bottom of the ninth to send the game to extra innings, and it looked like Gateway would fail to score their automatic runner from second base, but with two outs, Mateo came up clutch again, rapping an RBI single to right field to extend his hit streak to 10 games in a row and giving the Grizzlies a 4-3 lead.
But it was incredibly short-lived. Matt Hickey (0-1) surrendered an RBI triple to Andrew Sojka on the first pitch of the bottom of the 10th inning, knotting the score at 4-4. After Christian Fedko hit a ground ball to the drawn-in Gabe Holt at second base that was dropped, allowing the batter to reach on an error, Calarco came up again, and on the first pitch hit a ball right to Friedrick next to the first base bag. Friedrick stepped on first base for the first out of the inning, and tried to throw to Tyler Young at second base to turn a double-play and keep Sojka at third base, but the ball got away into shallow left field, allowing Sojka to trot home with the winning run, and sealing the Grizzlies' first series loss against the Boomers since August of 2023.
Still at 10-5 on the season and still in first place in the West Division by 0.5 games, Gateway will come home to Sauget next, beginning a six-game home stand against the Florence Y'alls on Tuesday, May 27. Teague Conrad will throw in the series opener for Gateway against Florence's Evan Webster, with first pitch at Arsenal BG Ballpark scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT.
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