Grizzlies Swept by ValleyCats
July 24, 2022 - Frontier League (FL)
Gateway Grizzlies News Release
Troy, NY - The Gateway Grizzlies lost again to the Tri-City ValleyCats 6-5 in 10 innings on a walk-off single by Cito Culver, as they were swept over the weekend at Joseph L. Bruno Stadium.
Just as they had in the first two games of the series, Tri-City scored first against Manuel Rodriguez, with a double-play ground ball with a runner at third base and no one out in the bottom of the third making it 1-0 ValleyCats. That lead would be extended to 3-0 on a two-out, bloop double to left field by Jesus Lujano in the fourth inning, and it would stay 3-0 until the top of the sixth, when the Grizzlies put up a big-time rally.
Andrew Penner singled to lead off the frame and extend his hit streak to 15 games in a row. After a fielder's choice, Zach Racusin chased the starter Austin Faith from the game with another single. Trevor Achenbach greeted the new pitcher with another single to load the bases for Kevin Krause, who hit a dramatic, go-ahead grand slam home run to give the Grizzlies their first lead of the series at 4-3. Later in the inning, Clint Freeman hit his tenth homer of the season over the left field fence for a 5-3 lead.
But yet again, the good feelings would not last long, as a leadoff homer by Brantley Bell in the bottom half made it a 5-4 game, and with the go-ahead run at third base and two outs, a two-out RBI single by Carson McCusker tied the score at 5-5.
After a rain delay of over an hour, the teams resumed play, and Gateway had a chance to take the lead in the ninth with the go-ahead run in scoring position, but could not get the big hit they needed. The game ended up in extra innings, and after the Grizzlies failed to score in the top of the tenth, Culver led off the bottom half in the international tiebreaker with the winning run at second base, and singled to right-center field for his only hit of the game, sending the Grizzlies into fifth place in the West Division standings with their fifth straight loss.
The Grizzlies will head back home for a six-game stand against East Division foes that begins on Tuesday, July 26, at 6:45 p.m. against the Sussex County Miners at GCS Credit Union Ballpark. Brendan Feldmann will start the opener of the series for Gateway.
Frontier League Stories from July 24, 2022
- Cito Culver's Walk-Off Completes Sweep of Gateway - Tri-City ValleyCats
- Grizzlies Swept by ValleyCats - Gateway Grizzlies
- Y'alls Douse Boulders, Win Series in New York - Florence Y'alls
- Florence Takes Rubber Game of Series with Boulders - New York Boulders
- Boomers Drop Rain Shortened Finale - Schaumburg Boomers
- Titans Rout Crushers in Rain-Shortened Contest, Take Two of Three - Ottawa Titans
- Otters Earn Solid Win against Miners on Getaway Day - Evansville Otters
- Crushers Pitching Fails to Find Zone in Loss - Lake Erie Crushers
- Washington Edged out in Finale against Aigles - Washington Wild Things
- ThunderBolts Shut Down in Loss to New Jersey - Windy City ThunderBolts
- Denis Phipps Breaks Single Season Home Run Record in ValleyCats Victory - Tri-City ValleyCats
- Run Fest Favours Crushers over Titans - Ottawa Titans
- Grizzlies Fall Hard Again to ValleyCats - Gateway Grizzlies
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