Grizzlies Falter Late, Settle for Series Win
Published on May 14, 2026 under Frontier League (FL)
Gateway Grizzlies News Release
SAUGET, ILL. - The Gateway Grizzlies nearly clawed their way back from a 5-1 deficit in the middle frames on Thursday night, but allowed nine runs in the final three innings en route to a 14-5 loss to the Joliet Slammers at Arsenal BG Ballpark, dropping their record to 3-3 on the year.
Victor Castillo put the Grizzlies ahead right away with a solo home run to right field that made it 1-0 in the first inning, but Joliet responded with five runs in the top of the second inning, capped by a go-ahead grand slam by Ian Battipaglia over the short porch in right that made it 5-1.
Mark Shallenberger led the comeback from the four-run deficit by smacking a pair of home runs, including a two-run shot in the third inning, giving him four long balls in his last two games. On the second of those two homers, a solo blast in the sixth, Gateway got their deficit down to a single run at 5-4.
But the bullpen faltered late. Joliet scored three times in the seventh off Jake Burcham on a home run by Josh Phillips, and then four more times with two outs in the eighth on back-to-back doubles by A.J. Orrico and Brandon Heidal off Andrew Ronne, making the score 12-4. Bryson Horne would also stay hot with a solo homer of his own in the bottom of the eighth to cap the Gateway scoring, but a two-run shot to right by Cam Suto off position player Abe Valdez accounted for the final margin.
Despite the hard loss, the Grizzlies won the series, and will look to bounce back on Friday, May 15, against the Windy City ThunderBolts. Xander Lovin will pitch in the series opener against Windy City southpaw Kevin Figueredo, with first pitch at Arsenal BG Ballpark set for 6:30 p.m. CT.
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