Grizzlies Win Third in a Row, Top Slammers
May 26, 2023 - Frontier League (FL)
Gateway Grizzlies News Release
Sauget, IL - The Gateway Grizzlies scored three runs in the bottom of the first inning, and five runs in their first two turns at bat on Friday night at Grizzlies Ballpark, leading the whole way in a 13-5 victory over the Joliet Slammers, the team's third consecutive win.
It was Peter Zimmermann that got the scoring started with a towering, three-run home run in the bottom of the first off Joliet starter Turner Larkins (1-2), putting the home team ahead 3-0. In the second inning, after the Slammers got one run back to make it 3-1, back-to-back RBI hits by Mark Vierling and Gabe Holt expanded the lead to 5-1.
Both teams settled in from there, with Larkins lasting six innings for the Slammers while Nate Garkow (2-1) tossed a pair of shutout frames for Gateway, striking out five and walking none. Joliet would creep closer on an RBI single by Will Salas in the fifth inning off Zac Treece, then a solo home run from G.J. Hill in the seventh off Alec Whaley to make it a 5-3 ballgame.
But after Larkins departed, the Grizzlies pounded the Slammers' bullpen in the seventh to the tune of six runs, including RBI hits by Holt, Zimmermann, and Clint Freeman, to expand the lead again out to 11-3. Both teams then scored a pair of runs in the eighth to complete the scoring, with the Grizzlies doing so on a two-run homer by Eric Rivera, his first dinger of the season.
It was the second game in a row that Gateway had 14 hits as a team, with Holt and D.J. Stewart both collecting three-hit days at the plate, joined in the multi-hit club by Rivera, Vierling, and Zimmermann. Each of the top four batters in the Grizzlies' lineup also scored multiple runs and drove in multiple runs in the team-wide effort to claim the series opener.
The Grizzlies will look to make it four wins in a row and another series victory when they face the Slammers on Saturday, May 27, at 6:45 p.m. Joey Gonzalez will start on the mound for Gateway against Joliet left-hander Tyler Jay.
The Gateway Grizzlies are a professional baseball team, located a mere 10 minutes from downtown St. Louis in Sauget, Illinois. The Grizzlies offer baseball fans affordable, family fun at Grizzlies Ballpark with a great view of the St. Louis skyline. They have also won two Frontier League Organization of the Year Awards, three West Division titles, and the 2003 Frontier League Championship. For tickets or general information, please visit gatewaygrizzlies.com or call (618) 337-3000.
The Frontier League debuted in 1993, and is the largest of the Major League Baseball Partner Leagues, featuring teams stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River, and from the Ohio River to the St. Lawrence Seaway. More information and the complete 2023 schedule can be found at frontierleague.com.
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