GATEWAY LEAD SLIPS AWAY IN EXTRA-INNING LOSS
JOLIET, Ill. — After building leads of 7-1 through five innings and 10-6 going to the bottom of the ninth, the Gateway Grizzlies (17-39) were unable to hold on and eventually fell to the Joliet Slammers (25-28) 11-10 in 11 innings Tuesday night.
Joliet's Rock Shoulders pounded his ninth home run of the year — a two-out grand slam in the bottom of the ninth inning to tie the game. The Slammers won the game in the 11th on a fielder's choice that scored Danny Zardon from third base just ahead of Grizzlies catcher Chase Simmons' tag.
Gateway ran out to a 7-1 lead in the early frames, propelled by a pair of Matt Hearn hits and Blake Brown RBIs, then Joel McKeithan's second homer as a Grizzlie — a two-run shot that capped off a four-run Grizzlies fourth inning.
Joliet battled back with two runs each in the sixth and seventh inning before both teams scored one apiece in the eighth.
With an 8-6 lead going to the ninth, the Grizzlies tacked on two more insurance runs — Cody Livesay's second sacrifice fly of the night drove in pinch-runner Brent Sakurai from third, then Chase Simmons laced his first professional home run over the left field wall. The pair of runs proved not quite enough.
Hearn extended his hitting streak to 17 games, the longest active streak in the Frontier League. He has now hit in 28 of his last 30 games.
Ramon Osuna added a pair of doubles and two RBIs in his third Grizzlies game.
Ja'Vaun West took a hard-luck no-decision after leaving the game with a 7-3 lead through six innings.
Gateway and Joliet will meet again tomorrow in the second installment of their three-game series. First pitch is scheduled for 10:05 a.m. Wednesday.
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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.