Grizzlies Unleash Offense, Top Y'alls on Opening Night
May 12, 2023 - Frontier League (FL)
Gateway Grizzlies News Release
Florence, KY - The Gateway Grizzlies went back and forth against the Florence Y'alls for four innings on Opening Night, but took control of the game in the middle innings, and piled on more runs late for a 13-7 season-opening win at Thomas More Stadium.
It was Gateway striking first right away when Gabe Holt hit the first pitch of the season from Florence's Edgar Martinez into right field for a single. Eric Rivera then doubled Holt to third base, and later, with two outs, Andrew Penner reached base on an infield RBI single that made it 1-0 Grizzlies. Florence, however, responded with two runs of their own in the bottom of the first inning to take the lead, then expanded it to 4-1 in the second inning on Ray Zuberer's two-run, two out homer off Lukas Veinbergs.
It remained 4-1 until the Grizzlies put together a huge rally with two outs in the top of the fourth. With two runners on, Abdiel Diaz came up clutch with a two-run double to left-center field, making it 4-3, and then scored the tying run when Holt doubled down the left field line to make the score 4-4. Later in the inning, a wild pitch allowed Gateway to take a 5-4 lead.
Again, the Y'alls responded by scoring two runs in the bottom of the fourth, taking a 6-5 lead on Cole Brannen's RBI single that chased Veinbergs from the game. But that would be the last hit the Y'alls could muster in the game, as the Gateway bullpen of Nate Garkow (1-0), Alec Whaley, Colton Easterwood, Zac Ryan, and Trevor Tietz combined to retire 16 of the final 18 batters they faced, including the final 11 of the contest.
Meanwhile, Gateway's offense just kept on coming. In the fifth, Alex Hernandez ripped a two-run, go-ahead double inside the third base bag to make it 7-6 and give the Grizzlies the lead for good. After both teams scored a run in the sixth to make the score 8-7, Holt singled after an 11-pitch at-bat with two outs and no one on base, followed by a Rivera single and a three-run home run by Clint Freeman that put the game out of reach at 11-7.
Holt then capped a four-hit, two-out rally in the eighth with his fourth hit of the contest, a two-run single that accounted for the final margin of 13-7. Every player in the lineup for the Grizzlies had at least one hit, led by Holt's 4-for-6 Grizzlies debut that included a double, three runs scored, and three RBIs out of the leadoff spot. Rivera, Penner, Hernandez, Diaz, and Peter Zimmermann also had multi-hit nights for Gateway, who won on Opening Night for the second season in a row in their first road season opener since 2013.
The Grizzlies will look to claim the first series of the season on Friday, May 12, when they send Josh Lucas to the mound against Florence's Mike Kickham in what is believed to be the first-ever matchup of former major league starting pitchers in Frontier League history. First pitch is scheduled for 7:03 p.m. ET.
Frontier League Stories from May 12, 2023
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- Titans' Bats Explode in Opening Night Victory - Ottawa Titans
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- Otters Fall to Wild Things in Season Opener - Evansville Otters
- Bats Power Grizzlies to Another Win Over Florence - Florence Y'alls
- Washington Blanks Evansville in Season Opener - Washington Wild Things
- Grizzlies' Bats Stay Hot in Romp Over Y'alls - Gateway Grizzlies
- ValleyCats Plate 11 for Opening Day Win - Tri-City ValleyCats
- Grizzlies Swing Past Y'alls on Opening Day - Florence Y'alls
- Grizzlies Unleash Offense, Top Y'alls on Opening Night - Gateway Grizzlies
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