Posted: Aug 09, 2017

GRIZZLIES CONQUER RASCALS IN OFFENSIVE SLUGFEST

SAUGET, Ill. – A ninth-inning, River City rally gave Gateway a scare, but came up short. The Grizzlies pulled out an 8-7 victory on Wednesday night at GCS Credit Union Ballpark.

Gateway picked up its first run in the bottom of the first inning. Ramon Osuna collected his 16th RBI of the season on a single up the middle.

Former Grizzlie Brandon Thomas tied the game in the top of the third with his ninth home run of the season.

The Grizzlies responded quickly in the home half of the third. Terry McClure and Cody Livesay each picked up an RBI with two outs. McClure and Livesay eventually scored on a throwing error by Rascals third baseman Braxton Martinez, extending Gateway's lead to four.

Gateway picked up nine hits through the first three innings on Wednesday night.

Johnny Morales came up big for River City in the top of the fifth inning with his fourth home run of the season. Three runs scored on the long ball to make it a one-run deficit.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, Blake Brown and Joel McKeithan added some insurance runs. Brown and McKeithan hit back-to-back homers to add three more tallies on the board.

River City did not quit in the top of the ninth. Jason Merjano hit the third home run of the game for the Rascals, a three-run shot, to cut the deficit to one. With the bases loaded and two outs, Grizzlies ace Vince Molesky entered the game in his first relief appearance in the Frontier League. Molesky forced Morales to pop out to Ramon Osuna in foul territory to end the action-packed ballgame. FINAL: Grizzlies 8, River City 7.

Matt Hearn picked up four hits, stole three bases, and scored three runs on Wednesday night. McKeithan, Osuna, McClure and Livesay each picked up an RBI. Blake Brown had two RBIs with his 14th home run of 2017.

The Grizzlies will be back in action on Thursday night in the series finale against River City at GCS Credit Union Ballpark. You can catch all of the action on the Grizzlies Media Network.

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 25^th 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.