SAUGET – The Gateway Grizzlies saw a 3-1 lead slip away in the top of the sixth against the New Jersey Jackals, but batted around and scored four runs in the bottom of the frame to take the lead, eventually recording a 9-7 win at Grizzlies Ballpark to even the series.
Deylen Miley began the game in style on the mound for Gateway, recording the first six outs on strikeouts, and the Grizzlies’ offense would support him early as well. In the bottom of the first, Gabe Holt and Edwin Mateo led off with singles, with each advancing a base on a ground ball, and Holt coming home on a sacrifice fly by Tyler Shelnut, with the rookie outfielder’s first professional RBI making it 1-0 Grizzlies.
In the third inning, Trent Taylor singled to lead off against Miley before stealing second and third base, then scoring on a wild pitch by Miley to tie the game at 1-1. But in the bottom half, the Grizzlies got that run back and then some- Holt was hit by a pitch to lead off, and with two outs, Shelnut walked. Then, on a wild pitch by Dylan Sabia (2-4), a subsequent throwing error by the pitcher recovering the ball from the warning track brought Holt home to make it a 2-1 Grizzlies lead, and Abdiel Diaz reached on an infield RBI single to score Shelnut for a 3-1 advantage.
Miley held that lead until the sixth inning, with the Frontier League’s leader in strikeouts fanning 10 batters in the contest, but the Jackals fought back, tying the game on RBI hits by Hemmanuel Rosario and Fritz Genther. With runners at second and third base and only one out, Alec Whaley (4-1) was summoned from the bullpen, and the veteran reliever loaded the bases on a hit batter, but then pitched out of the jam with a strikeout and a ground ball to third base, and in the bottom of the inning, the Grizzlies answered yet again to take the lead.
After Dale Thomas and Jose Alvarez reached base with one out on a single and walk, respectively, Sabia was removed by New Jersey in favor of Ryan Velazquez, who was greeted by a go-ahead, opposite field automatic double from Holt to give the Grizzlies a 4-3 lead. After a walk loaded the bases and Velazquez got a strikeout for the second out of the inning, the right-hander lost command of the zone, walking three batters in a row and also balking once, with RBIs by Shelnut and D.J. Stewart capping a four-run inning as Gateway took a 7-3 lead.
Both teams would score late in the game as well- New Jersey made it 7-4 on a sacrifice fly by Miguel Gomez, which the Grizzlies answered with single runs in their next two turns at bat on a wild pitch and an RBI groundout by Kevin Krause. Leading 9-4 into the ninth inning, the Jackals scored three times on three hits and a walk plus a wild pitch against Joel Condreay, getting within 9-7 and bringing the tying run to the plate with two outs, but Leoni De La Cruz came in and got Xavier Valentin to ground out to Holt at second base to end the game, notching his sixth save in the process.
Holt let the Grizzlies’ 12-hit offensive attack by going 3-for-4 with three runs scored, while Diaz, Stewart, and Alvarez each had two-hit games at the plate as the Grizzlies recorded their 40th victory of the season as well as their first all-time at home against New Jersey in five tries.
Gateway will look to win the series in the finale of their six-game home stand on Thursday night, August 1, at Grizzlies Ballpark. Teague Conrad draws the starting assignment for the home team against the Jackals’ Jalon Tyson-Long, with first pitch at 6:30 p.m. CT.
