Grizzlies Crush Otters in Series-Opening Rout
Published on July 7, 2026 under Frontier League (FL)
Gateway Grizzlies News Release
SAUGET, ILL. - The Gateway Grizzlies blew out the Evansville Otters on Tuesday night, tying their season-high in runs scored in a 16-1 result to decisively break their three-game overall losing streak and seven-game home losing skid at Arsenal BG Ballpark.
Gateway began in the second inning when Gateway loaded the bases for Mitchell Sanford, who drew an RBI walk. The lead then doubled to 2-0 after the third inning when Dale Thomas crushed a solo home run over the center field wall, part of a monster day at the plate individually.
The Grizzlies then broke out in a big way in the fourth, scoring nine runs on eight hits and sending the game to blow out territory. Sanford got it started with a two-run home to make the score 4-0. Three batters later, Sawyer Smith added another with an RBI double, and would score on a wild pitch by Landon Willeman (2-3) for a 6-0 advantage.
Thomas then stayed hot, collecting his third hit of the game with an RBI double to make it a 7-0 advantage. That set the scene for Brennan Orf, who took Willeman deep for a three-run blast to right field- his first home run as a Grizzlie- to put Gateway up 10-0. With Willeman chased, Darryl Lee capped the frame with a solo shot off of Andrew Garcia, making the score 11-0 Grizzlies with his first professional home run.
Ben Gregory (1-1) took all the run support and ran with it, earning his first professional win on the mound with seven shutout innings, no walks, and five strikeouts. The Grizzlies would add three more runs in the sixth and two in the seventh to take a 16-0 lead, and although the shutout was lost with two outs in the ninth, the sizeable win remained.
Overall, Thomas led the charge offensively by finishing a triple away from the cycle, tying his career-high with four hits in going 4-for-6 with two doubles, a home run, four runs scored and two RBIs. Orf and Sanford also drove in three runs apiece while scoring multiple runs themselves, while four different Grizzlies enjoyed multi-hit performances in the team-wide onslaught.
The Grizzlies will look to make it back-to-back wins against the Otters on Wednesday, July 8, with first pitch scheduled for 10:45 a.m. CT. Blake Peyton gets the ball for Gateway opposite Ben Petschke at Arsenal BG Ballpark for the quick-turnaround middle game of the series.
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