Sports stats



FL Gateway Grizzlies

Grizzlies Come Back to Stun Otters in Extras

June 28, 2023 - Frontier League (FL)
Gateway Grizzlies News Release


Evansville, IN - The Gateway Grizzlies trailed 5-4 going to the top of the ninth inning against the Evansville Otters, but rallied to tie the game in the frame and send it to extra innings, where they scored two runs in the tenth for a dramatic, 7-5 victory at Bosse Field to force a rubber game in the series finale.

Gateway got the scoring started right away thanks to some sloppy defense by the Otters in the first- Gabe Holt reached on an error by third baseman Jomar Reyes, went to third base on a single by Jairus Richards, and scored when Andrew Penner also reached on an error by shortstop George Callil. After a pair of strikeouts from ace Tim Holdgrafer, Clint Freeman beat the ball to first base for an infield single, with Richards coming around to score from second base on the play to make it 2-0.

The lead would last until the fourth inning, when Evansville tied the score on four straight hits to lead off the frame against Lukas Veinbergs. An RBI single by Bryan Rosario made it 3-2 Otters and knocked Veinbergs out of the game, and after Noah Myers made it 4-2 on a sacrifice fly, Rosario caught the Grizzlies napping and stole home to increase the margin to 5-2.

The Grizzlies would respond right away against Holdgrafer in the top of the fifth, scoring two runs back on four consecutive leadoff hits, including Richards' RBI knock, as well as a sacrifice fly by Peter Zimmermann, making the score 5-4.

And that is the way the score remained until the ninth, as both bullpens held the line. Against closer Jake Polancic (0-2), D.J. Stewart led off with a single, went to second on a ground ball, and stole third base, forcing the Evansville infield to come in. After Eric Rivera drew a pinch-hit walk and stole second base himself, Holt hit a ground ball to the drawn-in shortstop Callil that was not handled cleanly, allowing Stewart to come in and tie the score at 5-5.

After the Otters failed to rally in the ninth against Colton Easterwood (2-0), the game went to extra innings with the International Tiebreaker in effect, and Zimmermann led off by scoring the automatic runner on an RBI double inside the third-base bag to make it 6-5 Grizzlies. After a sacrifice by Willie Estrada moved Zimmermann to third base, he scored on a sacrifice fly by Freeman for a 7-5 advantage. Alec Whaley then came in and retired all three batters he faced for the save, as Gateway completed the comeback win.

Holt led Gateway's offense with his second three-hit game in a row and two runs scored, with Zimmermann and Freeman each driving in a pair of runs as well. The Grizzlies' bullpen put together their best effort of the season as well, with six relievers combining to allow no runs over 6 2/3 innings along with no walks and a whopping 12 strikeouts, allowing the Grizzlies to eventually come back and even up the midweek series.

The series will be decided in a rubber game on Thursday, June 29, at 6:35 p.m., with Carson LaRue drawing the starting assignment on the mound against the Otters' Jhon Vargas at Bosse Field before the Grizzlies return home for the Independence Day weekend.

Check out the Gateway Grizzlies Statistics



Frontier League Stories from June 28, 2023


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Other Recent Gateway Grizzlies Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central