Grizzlies muster a comeback to win their Opening Day game against the Slammers
FL Joliet Slammers

Grizzlies muster a comeback to win their Opening Day game against the Slammers

Published on May 12, 2026 under Frontier League (FL)
Joliet Slammers News Release


SAUGET, IL - The Gateway Grizzlies gave their fans an exciting end in their first home game of the season, clawing out a 6-3 victory over the Joliet Slammers on Tuesday.

Both teams were in new territory when it comes to this season, whether that is Gateway (2-2) finally having a home game or Joliet (1-3) finally hitting the road.

The Slammers didn't seem to have any car sickness as they started the game by getting in the scoring column. After an Ian Battipaglia walk and a single by Peyton Carr, Blake Berry brought Battipaglia home with an RBI double. Another walk loaded the bases, but Grizzlies starting pitcher Alec Sparks was able to strike out the next man up to escape the 1st inning with minimal damage.

Joliet wasn't done yet, however, as Sparks walked another batter to set up a two-run homer by Nico Bermeo in the top of the 2nd inning, bringing the Slammers lead to 3-0.

That is where the game sat for a few innings, until the Grizzlies gave themselves a great scoring opportunity in the bottom of the 5th with three straight singles. Gateway still had two outs to work with, but Slammers starting pitcher Eric Turner repaid the favor Sparks had given Joliet by escaping the inning with the bases loaded and leaving the score at 3-0.

The Grizzlies would finally get one on the board when Sawyer Smith hit a solo home run early in the bottom of the 7th inning. That gave his team much needed momentum to spark a scoring frenzy. That home run led into a single, which led into a walk, an RBI single, a hit by pitch, and to cap it all off, a 2-RBI single. All those batters getting on base helped score four more, with Gateway ending that inning with a 5-3 lead.

That lead wasn't big enough for the Grizzlies, as a Cade Parker RBI double added one more to the tally for his team. This ended the 8th inning with a score of 6-3, making it just a little bit harder for the Slammers to find their footing and come back in this game.

It turned out that the insurance run wasn't even needed as Grizzlies relief pitcher Sam Gardner struck out three of the four batters he faced to end the game in the top of the 9th inning, with the score holding at 6-3.

After winning in their first home appearance, Gateway will take a quick power nap before coming right back to Arsenal BG Ballpark for a morning game against Joliet on Wednesday, May 13th. The Slammers will hope that the morning sun brings some good luck to them as they prepare to play the second match of the three-game series on the road against the Grizzlies.

Check out the Joliet Slammers Statistics

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Frontier League Stories from May 12, 2026


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