SAUGET, Ill. — Alec Kisena, Grant Black and Josh Glick combined to allow only one run Friday night and the Gateway Grizzlies found just enough offense to beat the Normal CornBelters in the series opener at GCS Credit Union Ballpark.
Trae Santos and Artemis Kadkhodaian supplied solo homers to lift the Grizzlies (17-21) to its third straight win. Santos’ first-inning solo shot was his eighth round-tripper of the year, which ties him for second in the Frontier League. Kadkhodaian’s, in the fourth inning, was his third of the season and gave the Grizzlies a 2-0 lead.
Normal (14-20) battled back with a run in the fifth inning, but Andrew Godbold was thrown out at the plate by Gateway left fielder Cody Livesay in the eighth inning to maintain the Grizzlies’ advantage.
Black (1-2) picked up the win in relief on the strength of 3 1/3 scoreless innings with six strikeouts. Kisena struck out eight and allowed only one run across 4 2/3 innings in his first start since resigning with the Grizzlies. Josh Glick notched the save, his third of the year.
Gateway will try to match its longest winning streak of the season in game two of the three-game series Saturday night at GCS Credit Union Ballpark. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
