Grizzlies' Early Lead Slips Away in Defeat
Published on July 24, 2019 under Frontier League (FL)
Gateway Grizzlies News Release
SAUGET, Ill. - The Gateway Grizzlies took a 2-0 lead through three innings Wednesday night but allowed the Lake Erie Crushers to battle back in the middle innings in an eventual 11-3 Grizzlies loss at GCS Credit Union Ballpark.
Gateway (24-36) struck first when Shawon Dunston Jr. cranked a solo home run to lead off the bottom of the second inning. Luke Lowery doubled the Grizzlies' lead with a sacrifice fly in the third inning.
Lake Erie (34-25) battled back, though, with a run in the fourth inning, three unearned tallies in the fifth to take the lead, and another pair of runs in the sixth. The Crushers won their second in a row and handed the Grizzlies their third straight loss.
Gateway answered in the seventh inning on a Crushers wild pitch that scored Brent Sakurai from third base, but Lake Erie piled up five more runs in the eighth inning to reach the winning margin.
Ian Kahaloa (1-4) allowed only one earned run (four total) but was tagged with the loss.
Lucas Lanphere and Geoff Bramblett hurled a scoreless inning apiece out of the Grizzlies' bullpen. Sakurai, Connor Owings, and Luis Román had two hits each. Sakurai and Owings remained tied for the team lead with 17 multi-hit games this season. Sakurai has started all 60 Grizzlies games this year; Owings has started 59.
Gateway and Lake Erie will wrap up their three-game series Thursday with another 7:05 p.m. CDT first pitch at GCS Credit Union Ballpark. Reign Letkeman (1-2, 3.34) is scheduled to start for the Grizzlies against Crushers southpaw Jared Koenig (4-0, 2.94).
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