(Photo Credit: Paul Baillargeon)
In a game that featured two rain delays, the Grizzlies’ offense came up just short in a 6-4 loss to the Washington Wild Things at GCS Ballpark on Saturday night.
The Grizzlies (4-11) never recovered after a slow start. Washington (6-8) scored six times in the first three innings. The Wild Things have won four consecutive games.
The Wild Things got off to a quick start against Gateway starter Max Schonfeld. Daniel Poma singled to start the game and the next batter, David Popkins, lifted a 1-1 pitch over the outfield fence to give Washington an early 2-0 lead. CJ Beatty followed the home run with a single, advanced to second on a walk, and advanced to third by tagging up on a pop-up in foul ground. Beatty scored on a groundout by Edinson Rincon and the Wild Things led by 3-0 after a half inning of play.
The Grizzlies used the long ball to answer back in the second inning. Ben Waldrip doubled to begin the inning and advanced to third on a single by Grant Buckner. Richard Seigel then stepped to the plate and launched his first home run of the season to the deepest part of the park. Seigel’s blast tied the game at 3-3.
Washington quickly re-took the lead the following inning. Schonfeld (0-1) hadn’t allowed an earned run in two starts this season, but allowed three more in the third inning. The right-hander ran into trouble after issuing two walks to begin the inning. Lee Orr followed later in the inning to plate Popkins and the second walk came around to score on an RBI groundout by Rincon. Jeudy Valdez capped the three-run inning with a single to score Orr and put Washington up 6-3.
The Gateway bullpen kept the Wild Things scoreless in the final six innings, but the offense never could mount a rally. Blake Brown launched his league-leading seventh home run in the sixth inning to cut the deficit to two runs.
Three singles loaded the bases for Gateway in the eighth inning, but the rally was cut short. RHP Richie Morowski struck out Bradon Reitano to end the threat.
The Grizzlies out-hit Washington with Rolando Gomez, Ben Waldrip, and Seigel each contributing two hits. Seigel has now reached base in every game this season.
The Grizzlies will finish the series and their seven-game homestand on Sunday afternoon at GCS Ballpark. First pitch is scheduled for 3:05 p.m. JaVaun West (2-0) will take the mound for Gateway and Washington right-hander Matt Sergey (2-0) will pitch for the Wild Things.
