Grizzlies Win Fifth Straight; Hammer ThunderBolts
July 3, 2012 - Frontier League (FL)
Gateway Grizzlies News Release
SAUGET, Ill. - Winners of five straight, the Grizzlies exploded offensively Tuesday night at GCS Ballpark to tag the Thunderbolts of Windy City with 14 runs in a Frontier League West Division 14-4 slugfest.
Gateway (23-20) scored early and often in front of the 4,568 faithful in the three-hour shelling, pounding the Windy City (24-17) rotation with thirteen hits and scoring seven runs by the fourth frame. Gateway added six more tallies in the fifth to put the game out of reach at the mid-way point, before adding an insurance run in the seventh. In all, six different Grizzlies posted a multi-hit performance, with all efforts headlined by Gateway outfielder John Shelby.
"Things are clicking for us right now," mentioned Shelby of the squad's recent success. "We are seeing the ball well right now in the box, and our defense is amazing. It is some of the most fun baseball I have ever played."
Shelby finished the 14-run showcase with a 2-for-5 line at the plate, while adding two runs and a monstrous 2-run shot to deep center. First baseman and Frontier League All-Star candidate Jerod Yakubik continued his season's tear, piling on three more RBI's to his team leading 34 in a 3-for-5 outing with a stolen base. Both DH Rogelio Noris and middle infielder Jonathan Johnson afforded a 2-for-6 effort and one and two RBI's respectively to the home club as well.
On the mound it was Grizzlies starter Paul Tremlin (3-0) that secured the win, going five innings with four earned runs on five hits with a walk and two strikeouts. Both Ja'Vaun West and Jordan Cudney worked out of the Gateway pen to aid Tremlin. West went three frames while allowing only two hits in his appearance, and Cudney followed with a one-hit ninth inning in his promising 2012 season debut.
Windy City's Stephen Sauer (4-3) was roughed up for six earned on six hits in a brief three-and-two-thirds outing and was charged the loss. Offensively the Thunderbolts sputtered to a halt after scoring a run an inning into the fourth.
As if the show on the field wasn't enough Tuesday evening, the Gateway Grizzlies and GCS Ballpark illuminated the Sauget sky with the first of a two-day fireworks display presented by The Edge.
The Grizzlies will look to post their sixth-straight win tomorrow night at 7:05 PM as they again play host to the Thunderbolts in game two of a pivotal FL West series. Fireworks will again chase the night's affair.
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Frontier League Stories from July 3, 2012
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