JOLIET, Ill. — Gateway Grizzlies first baseman Trae Santos drove a solo homer over the right-field wall to give the Grizzlies a 1-0 lead in the second inning, but the Joliet Slammers scored four unanswered runs for a 4-1 win Saturday night at Joliet Route 66 Stadium.
The solo shot was Santos’ seventh home run of the season — tied for third-most in the Frontier League. Gateway (14-19) scored first in each of the first two games against the Slammers (15-16) this weekend, but has won neither.
Joliet won its fifth straight game and clinched the three-game series.
Grizzlies righthander Mike Elwood (3-2) was tagged with the loss. He allowed four runs (all earned) in six innings and struck out two, but was hurt by poor defense in the sixth.
Gateway stranded 11 runners, nine of whom were stranded by Blake Brown; Joliet left only four on base. Nine of the 11 Grizzlies were left in scoring position.
Cody Livesay was 3-for-5; Artemis Kadkhodaian went 2-for-4 with a double and a walk. Justin Ellison added a double and a walk.
Gateway and Joliet will finish their three-game set at 1:05 p.m. Sunday.
