GRIZZLIES DROP RUBBER GAME; TAKE SEASON SERIES FROM RASCALS
O'FALLON, Mo. -- The Gateway Grizzlies allowed eight unanswered runs in an 8-1 loss to the River City Rascals on Sunday afternoon at T.R. Hughes Ballpark.
The Grizzlies (17-33) jumped out in front 1-0 after the first inning, but were held scoreless in the remaining eight frames. River City (26-24) notched their first series win over Gateway this season with the victory.
Cody Livesay began the game with a base hit and stole second base to put himself in scoring position. Ben Waldrip advanced Livesay to third base on a ground out and Blake Brown delivered a two-out RBI single up the middle to give the Grizzlies a 1-0 lead.
After the first, Rascals starting pitcher Dane Stone held the Gateway offense in check. Stone (4-2) allowed just that lone run and seven hits in six innings of work.
Gateway starting pitcher Trevor Richards (1-4) took the loss, but pitched well in his fifth start this season. Richards allowed three runs on five hits in six innings of work. River City got to him for one run in the second inning and two more in the fourth.
Danny Canela provided the majority of the offense for the Rascals in the series finale. He delivered an RBI single in the second inning to plate Brian Hansen and another in the fourth inning to score Curran Redal. That second single put River City ahead 2-1 and they tacked on their final run in the inning when Josh Ludy hit a deep sacrifice fly to center field to score Hansen from third base.
Richards kept Gateway in the game through six innings and the score remained 3-1 until things unraveled in the seventh and eighth innings. Danny Canela came through again with a two-RBI single in the seventh inning off RHP Justin Sprenger to put the Rascals ahead 5-1. Taylor Ard then delivered a three-run home run in the eighth inning to give River City an 8-1 lead.
Gateway tallied nine hits in the game, but left nine runners on base. Madison Beaird and Livesay paced the Grizzlies' offense with two hits each.
The Grizzlies enter the Frontier League All-Star break with a record of 17-33 and now have four days off before resuming play on Friday night. The Grizzlies begin the second half of the season at GCS Ballpark against the Frontier Greys. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. Sam Levitt and Kevin Schaefer will call the action on the Grizzlies Radio Network, which airs on 101 ESPN's digital channels and 1400 AM KJFF.