GRIZZLIES TRAIL EARLY, FALL IN WASHINGTON
WASHINGTON, Pa. — The Gateway Grizzlies allowed six first-inning runs Saturday night and trailed the rest of the way in an 8-2 loss to the Washington Wild Things at Wild Things Park.
Washington (4-11) evened the three-game series at one game apiece.
Gateway (7-7) did not score until the eighth inning, when Shawon Dunston Jr. and Luke Lowery delivered back-to-back RBI singles with two outs. Lowery extended his team-best hitting streak to eight games and Brent Sakurai extended his to seven straight.
Sakurai and Anthony Ray, who doubled and scored the first Grizzlies run in the eighth, were the only two Gateway batters to reach base twice.
Thomas Nicoll (0-2) took the loss for the Grizzlies. After allowing six runs in the first inning and one more in the second, he did not permit another run for the remaining 4 2/3 innings. He finished with a career-high nine strikeouts over 6 2/3 innings. At one point, Nicoll retired 11 Wild Things in a row. He also gritted his way through 120 pitches, a tremendous boost for a depleted Grizzlies bullpen. Nicoll and Wild Things starter Nick Wegmann (1-2) both sat through a 51-minute rain delay after the first inning.
Washington banged out six hits — including three doubles and a home run — in its six-run first inning. Gateway has allowed 18 first-inning runs in 14 games this season.
Still without a three-game winning streak in 2019, the Grizzlies will go for a series win in the finale Sunday at 4:35 p.m. CDT.
--
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.