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SAUGET – The Gateway Grizzlies are pleased to announce that Sam Rochard has been signed by the Minnesota Twins, making him the third Gateway hurler to sign in 2025 and the 55th former Grizzlies to sign with a MLB organization all-time.
Coming to the Grizzlies from Tennessee Wesleyan University, the right-hander has impressed all season long. In his professional debut on May 13 at Mississippi, he fired five shutout innings out of the bullpen and got the win over the Mud Monsters with three strikeouts. Rochard followed that up with five innings of two-run ball and seven strikeouts in another win over Trois-Rivières on May 18.
Then, after allowing one run over five innings on May 24 at Schaumburg in a loss, the Williamsburg, Virginia native painted a masterpiece in his final outing on May 31 against the Sussex County Miners, snapping a five-game losing streak for the club with eight, two-hit, shutout innings, walking two and striking out 10 while touching 95 miles-per-hour on the radar gun.
For the Grizzlies this season overall, Rochard went 3-1 with a 1.17 ERA, 23 strikeouts, and 11 walks in 23 innings pitched. He joins Teague Conrad and Sam Coonrod as the third Grizzlies pitcher to join up with Minnesota this year.
Gateway will go for a fourth straight victory and a series win to kick off their long road swing in the middle game of the series against Windy City tonight as they return to action. Lukas Veinbergs will pitch for Gateway against the ThunderBolts’ Buddie Pindel in a matchup of aces at Ozinga Field, with first pitch scheduled for 6:35 p.m. CT.
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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 Arsenal BG Ballpark with a great view of the St. Louis skyline. They have also won two Frontier League Organization of the Year Awards, four West Division titles, and the 2003 Frontier League Championship. For tickets or general information, please visit gatewaygrizzlies.com or call (618) 337-3000.
