GRIZZLIES' LEAD EVAPORATES IN FINALE
SAUGET, Ill. — The Gateway Grizzlies took a 2-0 lead in the third inning Sunday and held it through the fifth, but they allowed the Windy City ThunderBolts to score five unanswered runs for the second straight night and lost, 5-2, at GCS Credit Union Ballpark.
Gateway (14-19) dropped its fourth straight and fell seven games behind the first-place Florence Freedom in the West Division.
Windy City (17-16) won its third in a row for a weekend sweep and moved into a first-place tie with the Schaumburg Boomers in the East Division.
Shawon Dunston Jr. drove in the Grizzlies' first run with a sacrifice fly in the third and Andrew Daniel drove a two-out RBI double off the left-center field wall to give the Grizzlies a 2-0 advantage.
Prior to Sunday, the Grizzlies had been 12-1 this season when leading after five innings.
Windy City chipped into the lead with a run in the sixth, then took the lead on a two-run Patrick Mathis double with two outs in the seventh.
Chris Carden allowed only two runs (both earned) over 6 2/3 innings and struck out six. He did not factor in the decision. For the second straight night, the Grizzlies received a quality start in a loss. They are 6-7 this season with a quality start; they were 26-12 with one in 2019.
Geoff Bramblett (1-2) took the loss out of the Grizzlies' bullpen. He allowed his first earned run since May 24 against Washington. Dakota Smith allowed a pair of eighth-inning runs, the first earned runs against him since May 22 against Evansville.
Grant Black tossed a scoreless ninth inning with two strikeouts.
Brent Sakurai singled twice, stole two bases, and scored a run. Sunday marked his team-leading 12th multi-hit game.
Gateway is off Monday before opening a 10-game road trip Tuesday in Avon, Ohio, with a 6:05 p.m. CDT opener against the Lake Erie Crushers.
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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.