GRIZZLIES BATTLE BACK, FALL IN NINTH TO NORMAL
NORMAL, Ill. — The Gateway Grizzlies (0-4) lost a heartbreaker Tuesday night to the Normal Cornbelters (2-2) on a walk-off walk.
Normal scored the final three runs of the ballgame after Gateway tallied five runs in the seventh inning to take a 5-3 lead. The top of the seventh featured three Grizzlies hits, including a two-run single from Craig Massoni and a three-run homer from Blake Brown.
The hits came back-to-back, both with two outs. Brown's homer was the first of the year for Gateway.
The Grizzlies got a solid start from Will Landsheft, who threw five innings, surrendering only three runs on eight hits. He got a no-decision.
"I thought overall [Landsheft] did well," Grizzlies manager Phil Warren said. "He battled like Will always battles, whether he has his good stuff or not."
In the end, though, four errors and a couple other defensive miscues were simply too much for the Gateway to overcome.
"It's not the first night we've had bad defense that's cost us runs and, ultimately, the game,"Warren said. "There needs to be a little more pride…[defense] needs to be the one constant every night…it's the difference between winning and losing."
The Grizzlies play the second game of their three-game set in Normal tomorrow. First pitch is slated for 6:35 p.m. and fans can hear the game on the Grizzlies Media Network.
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ABOUT THE GATEWAY GRIZZLIES: The Gateway Grizzlies are a professional baseball team, located a mere 100-yards from I-255 (10 minutes from downtown St. Louis). The Grizzlies offer baseball fans entertainment, the likes of which are difficult to find - affordable, family, fun in the comfortable GCS Credit Union Ballpark with a great view of the St. Louis skyline. For tickets or general information please visit gatewaygrizzlies.com or call 618.337.3000.
ABOUT THE FRONTIER LEAGUE: The Frontier League is celebrating its 25th season as a professional, independent baseball organization. Since its inception, the Frontier League has provided millions of fans to a fun and exciting baseball experience within the American Midwest. Consisting of 12 teams in two divisions and 96 game schedules, the league is recognized for the amount of talented athletes that are picked up by various MLB teams every year.