Grizzlies Swept at Sussex County
July 23, 2023 - Frontier League (FL)
Gateway Grizzlies News Release
Augusta Township, NJ - The Gateway Grizzlies had a 5-1 lead in the bottom of the eighth inning with two outs, but let it slip away in a heartbreaking, 6-5 walk-off loss to the Sussex County Miners on Sunday afternoon, the club's sixth in a row to go winless on their road trip through the East Division.
Carson LaRue pitched his finest start of the season on the mound, allowing just one run on seven scattered hits with no walks and seven strikeouts over six innings. With a shorthanded lineup, the Grizzlies gave the right-hander run support with the long ball, as Willie Estrada slammed a solo shot over the left field fence in the third inning, and came up with a man on base in the fifth inning before smacking his second home run of the day over the center field fence to put the Grizzlies up 3-0.
The lone blemish on LaRue's line was a two-out, two-strike solo home run by Juan Santana in the sixth inning, making the score 3-1, but Gateway was able to hold that lead into the eighth thanks to Alec Whaley getting out of a bases-loaded jam in the seventh. In the top of the eighth, the Grizzlies bunched together four singles to expand their lead to four runs, with Andrew Penner and Mark Vierling driving in a run apiece with back-to-back hits, giving Gateway a 5-1 advantage.
But in the bottom of the eighth, with a runner on second base and two outs, Colton Easterwood balked Oraj Anu to third base before tossing a wild pitch to score him and make it 5-2. After a single by Jason Agresti, Easterwood then issued three free passes (two walks and a two-strike hit batter), to load the bases, then force in another run to make the score 5-3. After a pitching change, Josh Lucas (1-2) got two strikes on Edwin Mateo before the Sussex right fielder hit a game-tying RBI single, knotting the score at 5-5.
Then, in the ninth, the Miners again loaded the bases on two singles and an intentional walk, and after Agresti popped out, rookie left fielder Johnny Hipsman drove in his sixth run of the series on a base hit to right field, sending the Grizzlies to their first walk-off defeat of the season and sealing an 0-6 road trip.
Still holding first place in the West Division by one game over Schaumburg, the Grizzlies will look to turn things around at home this week, opening up a six-game stand against the Windy City ThunderBolts on Tuesday, July 25, at 6:45 p.m. CT.
Frontier League Stories from July 23, 2023
- Beebe Backed by ValleyCats' Five-Run Seventh in Series Win - Tri-City ValleyCats
- Holdgrafer and Otters Silence Greys - Evansville Otters
- Grizzlies Swept at Sussex County - Gateway Grizzlies
- Bolts Drop Rubber Match to Washington - Windy City ThunderBolts
- Washington Wins Big Rubber Game at Windy City - Washington Wild Things
- Burica Burns Y'alls, Titans Complete Series Sweep - Ottawa Titans
- Road Struggles Continue with Crushers Loss - Lake Erie Crushers
- Boomers Blank Trois-Rivieres - Schaumburg Boomers
- Y'alls Fall in Series Finale Pitchers' Duel - Florence Y'alls
- Walraven Homers Twice, Boulders Bash ValleyCats - New York Boulders
- Boomers Drop Wild Middle Game in Extras - Schaumburg Boomers
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
