LETKEMAN DOMINATES, GRIZZLIES WIN SERIES

SAUGET, Ill. — Reign Letkeman delivered the Gateway Grizzlies' second fantastic start in as many days and Shawon Dunston Jr. clobbered the first Gateway home run of the season to boost the Grizzlies to a 4-1 victory Sunday night over the Schaumburg Boomers at GCS Credit Union Ballpark.

After a leadoff single from Brent Sakurai in the opening frame, Dunston Jr. crushed a two-run homer over the wall in right field off Boomers starting pitcher Aaron Rozek (0-1) for an early 2-0 edge. 

Gateway (2-1) doubled its lead in the third by manufacturing a pair of runs. Jamey Smart drove in Dunston Jr. on a groundout following a successful double steal and Andrew Daniel came in on a wild pitch.

Letkeman (1-0) struck out the first four batters and allowed only two hits over six shutout frames. He finished with five punchouts on the night.

Chris Carden, the Grizzlies' starting pitcher Saturday night, also tossed six innings without allowing a run; he limited Schaumburg (1-2) to just one hit.

Out of the Grizzlies' bullpen Sunday, Sean Johnson surrendered a solo homer to Quincy Nieporte to get the Boomers on the board, but they still trailed 4-1. 

Grant Black was summoned to record the save for the second time in as many nights and he struck out Nick Oddo looking to slam the door.

Sakurai had three singles — the first three-hit game for the Grizzlies this season — and a stolen base. Dunston Jr. picked up a single in addition to his home run and became the first Grizzlie with multiple multi-hit games in 2019. He also had two singles Saturday.

Gateway is off Monday before starting a six-game road trip with the opener of a three-game series Tuesday night in Joliet, Ill., against the Slammers. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. with the Budweiser Pregame Show on the air at 6:50 p.m. 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 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 10 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.