Grizzlies Use Power, Pitching to Rout Joliet
Published on May 13, 2026 under Frontier League (FL)
Gateway Grizzlies News Release
SAUGET, ILL. - The Gateway Grizzlies wasted no time on Wednesday morning against Joliet, jumping on the Slammers with four runs in the first inning, and hitting five home runs as a team in an 11-3 victory at Arsenal BG Ballpark.
Bryson Horne got the party started for the Grizzlies with a three-run home run to center field in the first inning, and Dale Thomas later scored on a wild pitch to make it 4-0 Grizzlies. It was the only inning Joliet starter Nick Cosentino (0-1) would throw in his Frontier League debut.
Ben Harris (1-1) was the beneficiary of the early run support. The second-year Grizzlie was dominant in his six innings of work, allowing just one run on a solo home run by Peyton Carr in the second inning. The homer was also the only hit Harris allowed all day as the right-hander struck out six Slammers, walked three, and earned the win.
Gateway would add to their lead with single runs in the third and fifth innings. With two outs on both occasions, Mitchell Sanford delivered an RBI single in the third, and Sawyer Smith homered down the left field line in the fifth to make it 6-1 Gateway. The next two runs came shortly thereafter in the seventh inning, when Mark Shallenberger and Horne went back-to-back on consecutive pitches to put the Grizzlies up 8-1.
The home run parade then continued into the eighth inning. Shallenberger hit another home run, this time a two-run shot that scored José Alvarez, who was freshly aboard after his own RBI single. The scoreboard read 11-1, with Shallenberger and Horne both achieving multi-home run games.
Joliet would score two runs in the ninth inning, but it was too little, too late to change the final result, as Gateway won back-to-back games for the first time and claimed the series by winning the first two contests.
Gateway's record improved to 3-2 on the season following the victory and will try to complete the sweep in their first home series of the year on Thursday evening, May 14 in Sauget. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. CT, and will feature a battle of left-handers in Joliet's Gunnar Kines, and the Grizzlies' Blake Peyton.
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