Grizzlies Win Big Rubber Game over Windy City
Published on August 17, 2025 under Frontier League (FL)
Gateway Grizzlies News Release
SAUGET, ILL. - The Gateway Grizzlies had a 3-0 early lead slip away on Sunday night against the Windy City ThunderBolts, but recovered to score four runs in the sixth inning to go ahead for good in an 8-4 victory at Arsenal BG Ballpark.
It was Dale Thomas who broke the ice on the scoreboard in the bottom of the second inning, taking Windy City starter Bryce Hellgeth deep for a two-run shot to right-center field and a 2-0 lead. In the following inning, with two outs, D.J. Stewart came up clutch in his return to the starting lineup, driving in his 70th run of the season with a single to right field, making the score 3-0.
Grizzlies rookie Jake Burcham was sharp early as well on the mound in his first pro start, but faltered with two outs and a man on base in the top of the fourth, hitting Daryl Ruiz with a pitch before giving up a three-run, game-tying home run to Christian Kuzemka. The ThunderBolts would also take a 4-3 lead after Burcham departed the game in the sixth on an RBI single by Ruiz, but Francis Peguero (4-4) got a big double-play from Kuzemka that frame to minimize the damage, and the Grizzlies would capitalize in the bottom half.
With one out, Hellgeth hit Stewart with a pitch, and after Carsen Plumadore (1-3) came in from the bullpen, he walked Abdiel Diaz before Thomas tied the score at 4-4 on an RBI single off the top of the left field wall. Plumadore got Edwin Mateo to pop up to shortstop for the second out, but the game turned in the next at-bat when Cole Brannen clobbered a go-ahead, three-run homer out of the ballpark to right field, with his twelfth dinger of the season giving the Grizzlies a 7-4 lead.
Gateway's bullpen would hold that advantage late, as Peguero was followed by scoreless innings in the eighth and ninth from Matt Hickey and Keegan Collett. Mateo would also add a two-out RBI single in the bottom of the eighth to complete the scoring for the Grizzlies, as they lowered their "magic number" to clinch a spot in the 2025 Frontier League playoffs to seven with 13 games remaining in the regular season.
Having capped the home stand with a 4-2 record and finished the season-series against Windy City at 6-6, the Grizzlies will now embark on a 10-game road swing beginning in Schaumburg on Tuesday, August 19, against the Boomers at Wintrust Field. Gage Vailes will pitch the opening game at 6:30 p.m. CT, with the two teams separated by just 1.5 games atop the West Division standings.
Frontier League Stories from August 17, 2025
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- Titans Earn 200th Franchise Win, Take Entertaining Rubber Game - Ottawa Titans
- Grizzlies Win Big Rubber Game over Windy City - Gateway Grizzlies
- Bolts Fall in Rubber Match - Windy City ThunderBolts
- Wild Things Drop Finale, Hit Three Homers in Defeat - Washington Wild Things
- Boulders Drop Roller-Coaster Rubber Game vs Ottawa - New York Boulders
- ValleyCats Rally Late, Stun Rox to Split Series - Tri-City ValleyCats
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- Taylor Delivers in Eighth as Otters Sweep Joliet - Evansville Otters
- Boomers Cap a Winning Roadtrip - Schaumburg Boomers
- Florence Battles for Series Win - Florence Y'alls
- 'They're Not Just a Baseball Player, They're My Brother': an Inside Look into Living with a Host Family - Windy City ThunderBolts
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