GRIZZLIES DROP FINALE TO CRUSHERS
AVON, Ohio — The Gateway Grizzlies fell behind in the middle innings Thursday night and never recovered in a 12-5 loss to the Lake Erie Crushers at Sprenger Stadium.
Gateway (32-49) lost its second straight game and three out of four contests in the series.
After the Grizzlies scored in the second inning to tie the game 1-1, Lake Erie (43-37) rattled off seven unanswered runs in the middle innings to take an 8-1 lead. The Crushers stretched their advantage to 12-2 before the Grizzlies scored three runs on only one hit in the ninth inning for the final margin.
Chris Carden (7-3) took a rare defeat. He allowed five runs (all earned) over 4 2/3 innings and struck out two against a career-high six walks. Carden had tossed at least 5 1/3 innings in each of his first 14 starts of 2019.
Jason Seever retired all four Crushers he faced and struck out three. Brent Sakurai — Gateway's normal shortstop — was the only other Grizzlies pitcher without a run charged against him; he got the final two outs in the eighth inning in his second pitching appearance of the series, his third of the season, and his seventh in the last two years for the Grizzlies. He added an RBI single in the ninth.
Shawon Dunston Jr. had the Grizzlies' only multi-hit game with a pair of singles and a run scored.
After an overnight bus trip, the Grizzlies will open a three-game series Friday against the Evansville Otters at historic Bosse Field in Evansville, Ind., with a 6:35 p.m. CDT first pitch. Jordan Barrett is Gateway's scheduled starter.
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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.