AVON, OH. – The Gateway Grizzlies grabbed an early two-run lead, then a late two-run lead on Friday night against the Lake Erie Crushers, then saw the home team get four straight runners on base in the bottom of the ninth to make it a one-run contest before Keegan Collett struck out Scout Knotts on a full count to preserve a nail-biting, 4-3 victory at Crushers Stadium.
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In the top of the first inning, Lake Erie starter Darrien Ragins hit Gabe Holt up high with a pitch, with the Grizzlies all-star second baseman leaving the contest as a precaution. Edwin Mateo ran for him, and the Grizzlies would load the bases on a Victor Castillo walk and Paxton Wallace infield single. Mark Shallenberger then kept his bat hot with an RBI single to center field to make it 1-0.
When Mateo came up in the second inning for his first at-bat, he knocked a hit into right field that had some wicked spin on it, with the ball bouncing away from Jordan Harrison-Dudley and carrying to the wall, allowing Mateo to circle the bases with an inside-the-park home run for a 2-0 Grizzlies lead.
Ben Harris (3-0) kept the Lake Erie bats down for most of his five innings on the mound, but both hits he surrendered came on solo home runs by the same batter, with Knotts tying the score in the bottom of the fourth. Lake Erie threatened later that inning with two outs, loading the bases, but could not score the lead run.
It was Gateway, in fact, that took the lead for good in the top of the sixth inning against Leonardo Rodriguez (2-3), with Shallenberger leading off with a single and Dale Thomas drawing a walk. After a sacrifice bunt by Jose Alvarez, a wild pitch scored Shallenberger and made the score 3-2 Grizzlies. In the next inning, D.J. Stewart burned his former team with a solo home run to right field, expanding the lead to 4-2.
Things got hairy in the ninth against Collett. The right-hander got the first two batters out, and reached two strikes on Dario Gomez as well, but was called for a pitch clock violation with a full count, putting the runner on base. Jarrod Watkins was then hit by a pitch, and Collett walked Alfredo Gonzalez on a close pitch, loading the bases. Collett was then called for another pitch-clock-violation ball four against Vincent Byrd, Jr., forcing in a run and making it a 4-3 contest, but the Grizzlies’ reliever bore down with three balls on Knotts and the game on the line, striking him out swinging to end the game and deliver Gateway their third win in a row.
Grizzlies Shut Out Saturday Night
AVON, OH. – The Gateway Grizzlies were shut out by the Lake Erie Crushers 4-0 at Crushers Stadium on Saturday night, breaking a three-game win streak for the club.
The Crushers took the lead with two outs in the first inning against Zac Treece (2-2), as Jarrod Watkins lined his first home run of the season down the right field line for a 1-0 score. Treece would settle in and pitch scoreless innings in the second and third, but faltered in the fourth, as the Crushers batted around and scored three more runs off the veteran to take a 4-0 lead.
That was more than enough for Anthony Escobar (6-1) on the mound, as the right-hander tossed seven shutout innings while allowing just three singles and two hit batters, running his scoreless inning streak all-time against Gateway to 20 in a row. Brandyn Sittinger and Michael Brewer pitched scoreless innings in the eighth and ninth to complete the shutout, just the second one tossed against Gateway this season.
Grizzlies Explode Early to Win Weekend Series
AVON, OH. – The Gateway Grizzlies put up nine runs in their first two turns at bat on Sunday afternoon, seven of which came in the top of the second inning, as they won their third straight series with a 10-3 result against the Lake Erie Crushers.
In a matchup of two starting pitchers making their pro debuts, the Grizzlies got to Jaydon Bishop (0-1) in the bottom of the first with one out. Mark Shallenberger started the rally with a single, and D.J. Stewart and Jose Alvarez both walked to load the bases. Paxton Wallace then came through with a two-run single to right field, giving the Grizzlies the early 2-0 lead.
After Xander Lovin got out of a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the first, the Crushers took Bishop out of the game after a strikeout to open the second inning in favor of Brandon Scheurer, and Gateway pounced on the right-hander. Dale Thomas greeted him with a single, and Shallenberger followed with a two-run home run to right field, making the score 4-0.
But Gateway was not done. Alvarez singled following the home run, and after a flyout for the second out of the frame, the Grizzlies drew three straight walks, with Abdiel Diaz’s free pass with the bases loaded forcing home a run and making it a 5-0 game. Edwin Mateo then came up with the key hit, a double over the leaping third baseman down the left field line that cleared the bases and made the score 8-0. Thomas would add another single to drive in the final run of the Grizzlies’ seven-run outburst to put them ahead 9-0.
Armed with the big lead, Lovin ended up completing four innings of work in his debut, striking out four Crushers batters. Lake Erie would use a leadoff walk and an RBI double to get on the board in the bottom of the fourth inning, but the Grizzlies got that run back for a 10-1 lead on a sacrifice fly by Shallenberger in the next half inning, giving him three RBIs on the day.
The Crushers would plate two runs in the bottom of the seventh to get within seven, but were unable to get closer as Gateway won their second-straight rubber game. Shallenberger led the balanced effort by going 2-for-4 with 3 RBIs, with Thomas and Stewart enjoying multi-hit games, and Mateo and Wallace joining Shallenberger with multiple RBIs.
The Grizzlies will look to keep their momentum going back at home when they open another nine-game stand at Arsenal BG Ballpark on Tuesday, July 1, by hosting the Washington Wild Things at 6:30 p.m. CT
