Grizzlies Win in Extras, Sweep Series from Slammers
Published on May 31, 2026 under Frontier League (FL)
Gateway Grizzlies News Release
JOLIET, ILL. - Going for their first sweep of the season in Joliet on Sunday afternoon, the Gateway Grizzlies won in dramatic fashion, beating the Slammers 7-5 in 10 innings at Slammers Stadium.
Ty Good (2-0) got the start for the Grizzlies and effectively limited the damage throughout his five innings of work. Joliet loaded the bases against Good in the bottom of the first with nobody out, but only managed one run on a sacrifice fly before Good induced a clutch double play to end the inning at just 1-0 Slammers.
Joliet got two more home in the third inning against Good after three consecutive softly hit singles with two outs. The Slammers led 3-0, but Good managed to keep them there. He finished his five innings with just the three runs to his name despite six hits allowed and walking five, with his ability to buckle down critical as the Grizzlies mounted their comeback.
Bryson Horne got the effort started in the top of the fourth, taking Joliet starter Gunnar Kines deep to right field for a solo homer. Gateway then got one more in the top of the fifth to make it 3-2 when Sawyer Smith singled, stole second, and then came home after the throw sailed into left field trying to catch him stealing third base.
Joliet scored a fourth run in the sixth on a walk, stolen base, and pair of wild pitches, but the Grizzlies came right back to knot the game up in the top of the seventh. A Dale Thomas walk and another base hit by Smith got things started with one out, chasing Kines from the game in the process. With Mitchell Sanford batting, Thomas and Smith executed a double steal, getting in position to allow Sanford to hit a sacrifice fly to make it a 4-3 game. Just two pitches later, Davie Morgan lined a single into left-center field, scoring Smith and tying the game up at 4-4.
Alec Sparks and Andrew Ronne (1-0) stepped up out of the bullpen after the equalizing frame, shutting the Slammers down over the final three innings to force extra innings. With the International Tiebreaker in effect, that's when Morgan played hero once again, drilling a double to the left field wall to score both the automatic runner and Sanford, who led off the tenth with a walk, giving Gateway a 6-4 lead. A few batters later, Morgan raced home on a Greyson Linderman (0-4) wild pitch to score a third run in the top of the tenth and make it 7-4 Gateway.
Rookie left-hander Eli Cartwright was trusted to close the game out in the bottom half of the tenth, and he did just that. After walking the first two he faced to load the bases with no outs, Cartwright got a fielder's choice groundout, which made the score 7-5, and two strikeouts to slam the door for the Grizzlies' ninth straight road win over Joliet as well as their first series sweep since July of 2025, also at Slammers Stadium.
Having now won seven of their last nine games overall to get back over the .500 mark for the first time in over two weeks, the Grizzlies continue their road trip on Tuesday, June 2, as they travel to Washington to take on the Wild Things in a rematch of last year's Wild Card Series. Left-hander Blake Peyton will get the ball for the morning contest and series opener, with first pitch at 9:35 a.m. CT from EQT Park.
Frontier League Stories from May 31, 2026
- Titans Drop Finale in Kinston - Ottawa Titans
- Corson's Pinch-Hit Single Caps Eighth-Inning Rally as Bird Dawgs Close out Ottawa 5-3 - Down East Bird Dawgs
- Late Tie Sends Series Finale to Extras, Slammers Fall 7-5 - Joliet Slammers
- Grizzlies Win in Extras, Sweep Series from Slammers - Gateway Grizzlies
- Boomers Swept in Kentucky - Schaumburg Boomers
- Crushers Launch Two Homers in Shutout Victory over Washington - Lake Erie Crushers
- Florence Completes Sweep - Florence Y'alls
- Bats Silenced to Close Winning Road Trip - Washington Wild Things
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