GRIZZLIES STRAND RUNNERS AND FALL TO FLORENCE ON OPENING NIGHT

SAUGET, Ill. —  The Gateway Grizzlies' offense struggled early as timely power and clutch base running propelled Florence to a 10-3 victory in the Grizzlies' regular season home opener.

Grizzlies' starter Vince Molesky had a rocky start in his first regular season appearance. The first three batters for Florence reached base as the patient hitters for the Freedom forced Molesky to throw 37 pitches in the first inning. Florence took an early lead in the first inning after Jose Brizuela ripped an RBI single to center field.

Molesky settled in through the second and third innings, allowing no runs off of just two hits. Unfortunately, the Grizzlies' offense failed to help their starting pitcher, as they picked up just one hit through two innings. Gateway also stranded the bases loaded in the second.

The Freedom added two more runs in the top of the fourth after a couple of walks and an error given up by the Grizzlies. Gateway then added their first run of the ballgame in the bottom of the 4^th inning. Craig Massoni led off with a single and then advanced to third on a wild pitch. Zach Lavy grounded out to second base, which allow Massoni to score and allowed the Grizzlies to get on the board for the first time.

 Florence took over from that point on. They broke the game wide open with their use of the long ball. Mercurio hit a solo home run in the fifth, Godbold added a solo home run of his own in the eighth, and Braff launched a two-run homer in the eighth to give Florence a 7-1 lead.

The Grizzlies added two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning, but stranded the bases loaded for the second time in the ballgame.

Florence added a few more runs in the 9th to put the game out of reach. 10-3 was the final score at GCS Credit Union Ballpark.

Grizzlies' starter Vince Molesky finished with 3 2/3 innings pitched, giving up three runs on five hits. He also gave up four walks and struck out five.

"He showed some good signs, but I thought he could've used his fastball more," said Grizzlies' skipper Phil Warren. "As the game went on, he settled in a little bit with his fastball and that is what helped him move along a little bit. He is a little rusty there is no doubt."

Base running was a big positive for Florence. Former Grizzlies catcher, Garrett Vail, recorded four of Florence's six stolen bases on Friday night. The Freedom also outhit Gateway 13 to six in the game.

Grizzlies manager Phil Warren had some thoughts on his team's performance in the home opener.

"We beat ourselves," said Warren. "We really didn't seize any opportunity to take some momentum in that game."

The Grizzlies will take look to pick up their first win of the young 2017 season on Saturday night in game two of this three game series against Florence. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. Fans who can't make it to the game can tune in on the Grizzlies Media Network.

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