Grizzlies Come Back Late to Beat Slammers
July 6, 2022 - Frontier League (FL)
Gateway Grizzlies News Release
Joliet, IL - The Gateway Grizzlies trailed 6-3 in the seventh inning on Tuesday night against the Joliet Slammers, but rallied to come all the way back late to record a 7-6 win on Tuesday night at Duly Health and Care Field.
Gateway started the game by getting the lead when Jay Prather walked and stole second base before Trevor Achenbach hit a double to left-center field, making the score 1-0 Gateway. But the Slammers would come back immediately, taking the lead on a two-out, two-run homer by Brylie Ware at 2-1, then adding single runs in the second, third, and fourth innings around another two-out double by Achenbach in the top of the third, making the score 5-2 Joliet after four innings.
In the sixth, Achenbach would continue his hot stretch at the plate by hitting his league-leading 16th home run over the right field fence to cut the Grizzlies' deficit to 5-3, but Carson Maxwell led off with a double and circled the bases on an error in the bottom half of the frame, making the score 6-3 going to the seventh.
The Grizzlies then began their comeback, chasing Joliet starter Trevor Charpie on a single by Jackson Pritchard with one out. The next four Grizzlies batters then reached for free against Chandler Brierley and Tanner Kiest (1-1), with Cam Touchette and Andrew Penner working walks to set up Isaac Benard, who was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to make it 6-4. Prather then also walked to make the score 6-5 Joliet, but Kiest struck out the next two batters to preserve the lead.
Gateway kept on coming in the eighth, however, as with two outs and runners at second and third base, Penner tied the score on an RBI infield single, beating Ware's throw to first base. Benard then put the Grizzlies in front to stay with another RBI hit for a 7-6 lead. The Grizzlies' bullpen took it from there, as Sam Gardner set up John Murphy, who worked around a leadoff double by striking out the side in the ninth for his third save of the season, securing the comeback win for Gateway.
Achenbach finished a triple away from the cycle, going 4-for-5 with three RBIs, while Pritchard tied his career-high with three hits and a pair of runs scored to lead the way for the Grizzlies offense. Gateway's bullpen also surrendered just one unearned run on two hits in four innings of work, striking out nine batters.
The Grizzlies will look to make it back-to-back victories in Joliet on Wednesday, July 6, at 6:35 p.m., as Steven Ridings will start on the mound against the Slammers' Cam Aufderheide in the middle game of the three-game midweek series.
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