Grizzlies Run Wild in Joliet, Take Series from Slammers
August 3, 2023 - Frontier League (FL)
Gateway Grizzlies News Release
Joliet, IL - The Gateway Grizzlies tied a Frontier League record on Thursday night at Duly Health and Care Field by stealing 13 bases, and led nearly throughout the rubber game against the Joliet Slammers in what became a 9-3 victory to take the series on the road.
It started in the first inning, as Eric Rivera was hit by Cam Aufderheide (1-8), and Cole Brannen then reached on an infield single to advance Rivera to second base before Andrew Penner came up with two outs and hit a go-ahead RBI single to right field to put the Grizzlies ahead 1-0.
The onslaught of stolen bags really started in the third inning, as Gateway used four of them to assist in scoring two more runs as well as a pair of leadoff walks by Aufderheide, with Penner picking up another RBI on a fielder's choice, and D.J. Stewart also recording a sacrifice fly in the inning.
Joliet would get a two-run homer by Phil Steering in the bottom of the third to get within a run, and then another homer by Matt Warkentin to draw within 4-3 after the Grizzlies stole three more bases to manufacture another leadoff walk into a run thanks to an RBI infield hit by Brannen. But Joey Gonzalez (8-6) was sharp from there on out, completing six innings for his second-straight win on the mound with four strikeouts in total.
Meanwhile, Gateway kept on running and kept on scoring, plating three runs in the sixth inning while stealing an additional four bases to take a 7-3 lead on a two-RBI single by Penner, giving him four runs batted in on the day. Abdiel Diaz would cap the scoring with a two-run single in the ninth inning at 9-3, as the Grizzlies lowered their "magic number" to clinch a playoff spot down to 16 with Washington's loss to Schaumburg.
The 13 stolen bases tie a Frontier League record that was ironically set earlier this season by the Slammers on June 28 against Windy City, while Diaz and Brannen both had four steals individually to come within one of tying Frontier League records themselves for a single game.
Now 3-1 on their road trip, Gateway will look to keep momentum going against the Washington Wild Things on Friday, August 4, at 6:05 p.m. CT, with Carson LaRue on the mound in the series opener against Dariel Fregio of Washington at Wild Things Park.
Frontier League Stories from August 3, 2023
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- Spivey's Gem Propels Y'alls to Series Win - Florence Y'alls
- Schaumburg Pulls Away Late in Rubber Game - Washington Wild Things
- Grizzlies Run Wild in Joliet, Take Series from Slammers - Gateway Grizzlies
- Boomers Sprint to Series Win - Schaumburg Boomers
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