Grizzlies Blow Out Lake Erie
September 1, 2023 - Frontier League (FL)
Gateway Grizzlies News Release
Sauget, IL - The Gateway Grizzlies bounced back from being shut out last night in a big way, hitting five home runs as a team and putting up 12 runs on 15 hits while Joey Gonzalez (11-7) struck out 10 batters over seven strong innings in a 12-2 victory over the Lake Erie Crushers at Grizzlies Ballpark on Friday night.
Though Lake Erie got runners on base in each of the first three innings, Gonzalez held them off the board, and Gateway opened the scoring in the bottom of the third. With two outs, Mark Vierling stole second base, and former Grizzlie Jackson Pritchard's throw sailed into the outfield, allowing Alex Hernandez to score for a 1-0 Gateway lead. After Peter Zimmermann walked to extend the inning, Clint Freeman and D.J. Stewart came up with back-to-back doubles off Matt Mulhearn (5-7), making the score 4-0.
Lake Erie would get two runs back off Gonzalez on RBI hits by Pritchard and Todd Isaacs to cut the lead in half at 4-2, but Gonzalez again got out of further trouble by striking out Jack Harris and Collin Mathews with the tying runs in scoring position. The Grizzlies would then strike back in the bottom of the fifth when Stewart cracked a two-run homer out to left field to make the score 6-2, and Kyle Gaedele followed with a solo shot of his own to expand the advantage to 7-2.
The Grizzlies weren't finished hitting the ball over the wall, either, as they clubbed three in the seventh inning to blow the game open. Gaedele's second solo home run of the day was followed by Willie Estrada's solo shot for a 9-2 lead, and three batters later, Vierling capped the scoring by hitting a three-run bomb over the right field fence.
Gonzalez did the rest, as he struck out 10 batters in the game to tie his career-high and earn his 11th win of the season, tying him for the Frontier League lead in victories. Of Gateway's 15 hits offensively, seven went for extra bases, as the Grizzlies dominated the series opener, and improved to 6-1 against Lake Erie this season.
Gateway will look to make it back-to-back wins in the middle contest against the Crushers on Saturday, September 2, at 6:45 p.m. CT. Carson LaRue draws the starting nod on the mound for the Grizzlies against Lake Erie's Yasel Santana at Grizzlies Ballpark in the penultimate game of the regular season.
Frontier League Stories from September 1, 2023
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- Otters Cruise Past Boomers with Hit Barrage - Evansville Otters
- Road Woes Continue - Lake Erie Crushers
- Grizzlies Blow Out Lake Erie - Gateway Grizzlies
- Boomers Open Final Regular Season Series with Defeat - Schaumburg Boomers
- Walks Haunt Titans in Loss to Capitales - Ottawa Titans
- Slammers Walk Off On Florence - Florence Y'alls
- Fregio Silences Bolts, Washington Bats Bring Thunder - Washington Wild Things
- Boulders Own Final Playoff Spot After Splitting Twin Bill - New York Boulders
- 2023 Playoffs - Gateway Grizzlies
- Wild Things Pounce Windy City 7-0 - Windy City ThunderBolts
- Quebec Capitales to Forfeit Game against Boulders - New York Boulders
- Boulders Gear up for Final Homestand of the Season - New York Boulders
- Sussex County Sweeps Tri-City at Joe Bruno - Tri-City ValleyCats
- ThunderBolts Sweep Lake Erie in Sudden Death - Windy City ThunderBolts
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