Members of the Gateway Grizzlies bullpen celebrate their team taking the lead in Sunday’s win over the Joliet Slammers. (Photo courtesy Gateway Grizzlies)

by Cedric Williams
Senior Editor

For most of the first eight weeks of the 2021 Frontier League season, the Gateway Grizzlies struggled, and at times, struggled badly.

Sometimes the Grizzlies weren’t hitting well. Sometimes they weren’t pitching well. And at times, they weren’t doing either well.

But now, heading into the final eight weeks of the season, the Grizzlies seem to be doing both very well.

That was never more evident than Sunday afternoon at DuPage Medical Group Field in Joliet, Ill., when Gateway banged out 10 hits and scored seven runs, while not allowing the host Joliet Slammers to score until the final inning of the game, in a 7-2 victory, which gave the Grizzlies a two-out-of-three series win over the Slammers.

As he was the night before in Gateway’s comeback win over Joliet, rookie Abdiel Diaz was the hitting star of the night. He had three hits, reached base four times, and scored two runs to lead the Grizzlie offense.

Teammates Andres Regnault and Justin Jones both drove in two runs, while veterans Chase Vallot and Connor Owings added an RBI apiece as well.

On the mound, starter Sam Gardner (3-0) was just fantastic, tossing 6 1/3 innings of shutout ball, while allowing just five hits and two walks, and striking out three.

The rookie righthander from Murray State began to run out of gas in the bottom of the seventh, but that’s when the Gateway turned to second-year pro Cody Thompson, who threw 1 2/3 innings of scoreless ball to get the Grizzlies to the ninth inning with a 7-0 lead.

With the win, Gateway has won nine of its last 13 games and raised its overall season record to 27-33.

At its low point of the season, Gateway was 12 games below .500. Now the Grizzlies are just six games under with a chance to keep the winning going this week with a three-game home series against the Southern Illinois Miners.

First pitch for each of those games at GCS Credit Union Ballpark is 6:45 p.m.