SAUGET – The Gateway Grizzlies gave up seven home runs on Wednesday night, four of which came in a seven-run top of the fourth inning, and got blown out in the middle game of the midweek series by the Lake Erie Crushers 13-1 at Arsenal BG Ballpark.
Nothing went the Grizzlies’ way in the game almost from the opening pitch. Four batters in, Kenen Irizarry hit a two-run double off Bennett Stice that made it 2-0. It stayed that way until the top of the third inning, when both Irizarry and Sam Franco hit homers to increase the margin to 5-0, chasing Stice from the game.
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After Claudio Galva came in and got a flyout for the second out of the inning, Derek Vegas’ ground ball to shortstop was thrown wide of first base for an error by Sawyer Smith, and after a single, Burle Dixon and Scout Knotts hit home runs back-to-back, making the score 9-0.
The home runs kept on flying off the Lake Erie bats in the next two innings, with Alfredo Gonzalez making it 10-0 on a solo shot in the fourth, and Dixon hitting his second homer of the night in the fifth for an 11-0 margin. The Crushers would complete their scoring in the ninth with two more tallies on another home run by Franco and a sacrifice fly by Vegas.
Xander Lovin provided a bright spot for Gateway by pitching the final six and one-third innings of the ballgame, saving the rest of the Grizzlies’ bullpen. The Grizzlies’ lone run came in the ninth on an RBI fielder’s choice by Edwin Mateo, accounting for the final 13-1 score.
Gateway will look to put the loss behind them in the rubber game of the midweek series, which will also decide the season series between the two clubs. First pitch on Thursday, August 14, at Arsenal BG Ballpark is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT.
Bats Come Alive, Grizzlies Beat Lake Erie
SAUGET – The Gateway Grizzlies finally got their bats going again on Tuesday night, scoring 13 runs on 14 hits to beat the Lake Erie Crushers 13-6, snapping a three-game losing streak at Arsenal BG Ballpark.
The offense began right away against Lake Erie starter Jack Eisenbarger (8-3), as Gabe Holt led off the first inning with a walk, followed by a single from Jose Alvarez, one of four hits the all-star catcher would get in the game to tie a career-best. After a double-play grounder, D.J. Stewart crushed Eisenbarger’s fastball over the left field wall for a 2-run homer, making the score 2-0 Gateway.
In the second inning, Sawyer Smith led off with a walk, went to second on a wild pitch, and scored on an RBI single by Mark Shallenberger to make it 3-0. Later in the inning, Holt reached base on an infield single to second baseman Davie Morgan with two outs, and an error on the same play brought home Shallenberger to make it 4-0, giving Gateway more runs in their first two innings than they had in three games over the weekend in Washington.
Meanwhile, on the mound, Gage Vailes had his stuff working, as the right-hander recorded his first eight outs in the contest via the strikeout, en route to fanning a career-best 10 over 5 1/3 innings of one-run ball. That run was scored by Lake Erie in the sixth as part of a two-run frame that made the score 5-2 at the time, but the Grizzlies would keep up the offensive pressure in the bottom of the same inning, scoring three runs on a bases-loaded walk by Cole Brannen, RBI fielder’s choice by Holt, and RBI single by Alvarez, going ahead 8-2.
Gateway would pile on two more runs in the seventh on a two-run double by Alvarez to go up 10-2, and completed their scoring with three more runs in the eighth inning on RBI singles by Edwin Mateo and Brannen, making the score 13-2 and giving the Grizzlies their most runs scored in a contest since July 9. The Crushers would plate four runs in the top of the ninth for the final score, but it was not enough to deny Gateway the streak-busting win.
Alvarez led the charge with a 4-for-6 night and three RBIs, while Mateo ended up 3-for-5 with two runs scored and one RBI. Brannen also drove in three runs out of the nine spot in the batting order, while Shallenberger went 2-for-3 with four runs scored in the feel-good win.
