Gateway secures first winning campaign since 2014, lowers magic number to 5 for playoff spot.
| Final – Aug. 17, 2023 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gateway Grizzlies | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 2 |
| Washington Wild Things | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
Steven Millbrook
Staff Writer
Washington, PA — Slugger Kyle Gaedele smacked a two-run home run and starter Lukas Veinbergs pitched six brilliant innings to lead the Gateway Grizzlies to a key 2-1 victory, Thursday night over the Washington Wild Things.
The win was Gateway’s 49th of the season, ensuring that the team will finish with a winning record for the first time since 2014. With 16 games remaining in the Frontier League season, the Grizzlies also lowered their magic number to clinching a playoff spot to five.
Should Gateway finish the deal and make the playoffs, it would be the club’s first postseason appearance since 2012.
Currently, the Grizzlies are 49-31 and have a 2.0 game lead over the Schaumburg Boomers for first place in the Frontier League West Division.
In Thursday night’s game, Gateway trailed early, but took the lead when Gaedele, who joined the Grizzlies in July, launched his seventh homer of the season, on an 0-2 pitch in the top of the fourth inning, to make the score 2-1.
From there, Veinbergs and the rest of the Gateway pitching staff shut the Wild Things down.
For the night, Veinbergs (8-3) held Washington to just three hits. Relievers Alec Whaley, Brian Eichhorn, and Josh Lucas kept the Wild Things scoreless and only allowed three more baserunners over the final three innings.
Lucas struck out two of the final three Washington batters to pick up his third save of the season.
The Grizzlies will look to carry the momentum from Thursday’s win into their next series, which will be this weekend in Avon, Ohio, against the Lake Erie Crushers.
On Friday, Gateway will start rookie Parker Johnson (0-3) against Lake Erie’s Stephen Chamblee (3-5). First pitch at Mercy Health Stadium is set for 6:05 p.m.