BUHNER LEADS GRIZZ BATS, BULLPEN TO WIN
SAUGET, Ill. — Gateway Grizzlies outfielder Gunnar Buhner reached base in all four of his plate appearances, including a two-run double to give Gateway the lead, in a 4-2 Grizzlies Thursday night over the Florence Freedom at UC Health Stadium.
Buhner's two-bagger came with two outs in the fourth innings and gave the Grizzlies a 3-1 lead that they did not relinquish for the remainder of the evening. He added a single, two walks, and a stolen base to his game and finished 4-5 with two walks and two steals over the two-game series.
Gateway (29-38) finished the season series with two victories in its last three games against the Freedom (42-28) and has won four of its last six games overall.
Reign Letkeman (3-2) earned the victory in his second straight start and the Grizzlies improved to 7-2 in his outings in 2019.
The Grizzlies' bullpen — Patrick Boyle, Dakota Smith, Grant Black, and Geoff Bramblett — stepped up behind him to the tune of four scoreless innings with only two base-runners allowed (one on an infield single and one on an error). They combined to strike out seven without a walk. Boyle, Smith, and all picked up holds while Bramblett collected his eighth save of the season in as many opportunities.
Shawon Dunston Jr., Luis Román, and Connor Owings all joined Buhner with multiple hits. Owings' multi-hit game was his 20th such performance of the season.
Zak Taylor extended the Grizzlies' lead with his first professional home run: a line-drive solo shot over the left-field fence to lead off the eighth inning.
Gateway will return to action Friday with a 7:05 p.m. CDT first pitch in Crestwood, Ill., against the Windy City ThunderBolts.
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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.