Gateway scores four in the first inning, hits five home runs to take middle game of midweek set
SAUGET, ILL. – The Gateway Grizzlies wasted no time on Wednesday morning against Joliet, jumping on the Slammers with four runs in the first inning, and hitting five home runs as a team in an 11-3 victory at Arsenal BG Ballpark.
Bryson Horne got the party started for the Grizzlies with a three-run home run to center field in the first inning, and Dale Thomas later scored on a wild pitch to make it 4-0 Grizzlies. It was the only inning Joliet starter Nick Cosentino (0-1) would throw in his Frontier League debut.
Ben Harris (1-1) was the beneficiary of the early run support. The second-year Grizzlie was dominant in his six innings of work, allowing just one run on a solo home run by Peyton Carr in the second inning. The homer was also the only hit Harris allowed all day as the right-hander struck out six Slammers, walked three, and earned the win.
Gateway would add to their lead with single runs in the third and fifth innings. With two outs on both occasions, Mitchell Sanford delivered an RBI single in the third, and Sawyer Smith homered down the left field line in the fifth to make it 6-1 Gateway. The next two runs came shortly thereafter in the seventh inning, when Mark Shallenberger and Horne went back-to-back on consecutive pitches to put the Grizzlies up 8-1.
The home run parade then continued into the eighth inning. Shallenberger hit another home run, this time a two-run shot that scored José Alvarez, who was freshly aboard after his own RBI single. The scoreboard read 11-1, with Shallenberger and Horne both achieving multi-home run games.
Joliet would score two runs in the ninth inning, but it was too little, too late to change the final result, as Gateway won back-to-back games for the first time and claimed the series by winning the first two contests.
Gateway’s record improved to 3-2 on the season following the victory and will try to complete the sweep in their first home series of the year on Thursday evening, May 14 in Sauget. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. CT, and will feature a battle of left-handers in Joliet’s Gunnar Kines, and the Grizzlies’ Blake Peyton.
Grizzlies Mount Comeback for Home-Opening Win
Gateway scores five in seventh to rally, take contest from Joliet
SAUGET – The Gateway Grizzlies came away victorious in their home-opener at Arsenal BG Ballpark, defeating the Joliet Slammers, 6-3 on Tuesday night.
Alec Sparks, making his first professional start, labored to begin the game, needing 38 pitches to get out of a one-run first inning for the Joliet offense. Slammers shortstop Nico Bermeo then lined an opposite field home run through the wind to right, scoring Brandon Heidal to capture a 3-0 lead in the second inning. That’s when Sparks settled in. The righty retired nine straight Slammers after the home run, giving his team four solid innings in his home debut.
Offensively, the Grizzlies struggled to get anything going against Joliet starter Eric Turner. Gateway failed to muster a hit through the first four frames before loading the bases against Turner in the fifth. While the Grizzlies couldn’t scratch a run across in the inning, the traffic did help chase Turner after six shutout innings and set the table for the Gateway comeback.
In the seventh, Sawyer Smith sparked the offense with a solo home run off Slammers reliever Donovan Smith (0-1), making the score 3-1. An error by Joliet second baseman A.J. Orrico followed, and Cade Parker drew a walk, setting up an RBI knock from Cole Brannen that made it 3-2, and a wild pitch by Slammers reliever Marcus Morgan then knotted the game up at 3-3. That’s when José Alvarez delivered the eventual game-winning hit, drilling a single into right field to put the Grizzlies up 5-3.
Gateway would add insurance in the bottom of the eighth, when Parker delivered a two-out, run-scoring double to the deepest part of the park in center field, scoring Smith for a 6-3 lead. That was more than enough cushion for Grizzlies’ closer Sam Gardner, who struck out the side for the second time this season, earning save number two. Earning the win with four shutout innings of relief was Gage Vailes (1-0) in his season debut, striking out seven, and allowing just two Joliet batters to reach base.
