The Gateway Grizzlies took a 5-0 lead into the seventh inning at GCS Ballpark on Saturday night, but the Frontier Greys responded with eight unanswered runs to beat Gateway, 8-5. The game registered the eleventh largest crowd in Grizzlies’ history with 6,933 fans filling the ballpark.
The Grizzlies (14-29) exploded for five runs in the third inning to jump out on the Greys (19-23). The Grizzlies scratched across their first run of the night after Rolando Gomez walked with the bases loaded and nobody out. Blake Brown then followed with an RBI single to make it 2-0. Ben Waldrip extended the lead with another RBI base hit, which was followed by Grant Buckner’s run-scoring sac fly and Garrett Vail’s RBI single.
Gateway’s offense would be halted by Greys RHP Andrew Wellwerts, who tossed 3.1 scoreless innings to keep the deficit at 5-0 and picked up his second victory of the season.
Gateway led by that margin until the seventh inning, as RHP Tyler Thompson cruised through six inning of scoreless baseball. Thompson then ran into trouble during the seventh. He walked the first two batters of the inning and allowed one run before being replaced by RHP Scott Harkin.
Harkin (1-2), who came into the game with a sub-1.00 ERA, couldn’t hold the Grizzlies’ lead. After allowing three more runs to cross home plate, Harkin then gave up a go-ahead two-run blast to Brandon Tierny. Dillon Haupt followed later in the inning with a solo homer. The Greys ended the seventh inning with seven runs scored and a 7-5 lead.
After Zach Tanner’s solo homer in the eighth, the Grizzlies loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom half of the inning. Rolando Gomez, who represented the go-ahead run at the plate, grounded out to first base as the Grizzlies came up empty.
RHP Nick Anderson collected his seventh save of the season to close out the game.
The Grizzlies have two days off and then return to action in Rockford to play the Aviators in a doubleheader on Tuesday. Game 1 will be the resumption of a June 28 contest which was suspended after ten innings due to weather with the score tied 2-2. The doubleheader can be heard on the Grizzlies Radio Network, which airs on 101 ESPN’s digital platforms and 1400 AM KJFF.
