GRIZZLIES' EARLY LEAD SLIPS AWAY IN DEFEAT

SAUGET, Ill. — The Gateway Grizzlies took a 2-0 lead through three innings Wednesday night but allowed the Lake Erie Crushers to battle back in the middle innings in an eventual 11-3 Grizzlies loss at GCS Credit Union Ballpark.

Gateway (24-36) struck first when Shawon Dunston Jr. cranked a solo home run to lead off the bottom of the second inning. Luke Lowery doubled the Grizzlies' lead with a sacrifice fly in the third inning.

Lake Erie (34-25) battled back, though, with a run in the fourth inning, three unearned tallies in the fifth to take the lead, and another pair of runs in the sixth. The Crushers won their second in a row and handed the Grizzlies their third straight loss.

Gateway answered in the seventh inning on a Crushers wild pitch that scored Brent Sakurai from third base, but Lake Erie piled up five more runs in the eighth inning to reach the winning margin.

Ian Kahaloa (1-4) allowed only one earned run (four total) but was tagged with the loss.

Lucas Lanphere and Geoff Bramblett hurled a scoreless inning apiece out of the Grizzlies' bullpen. Sakurai, Connor Owings, and Luis Román had two hits each. Sakurai and Owings remained tied for the team lead with 17 multi-hit games this season. Sakurai has started all 60 Grizzlies games this year; Owings has started 59.

Gateway and Lake Erie will wrap up their three-game series Thursday with another 7:05 p.m. CDT first pitch at GCS Credit Union Ballpark. Reign Letkeman (1-2, 3.34) is scheduled to start for the Grizzlies against Crushers southpaw Jared Koenig (4-0, 2.94).

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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.