Gateway’s Connor Owings leads off second base, while Florence’s Luis Pintor tries to keep him close during Saturday night’s Frontier League game between the Grizzlies and the Y’alls at GCS Credit Union Ballpark in Sauget, IL. (Photo credit: Cedric Williams)

by Cedric Williams
Senior Editor

SAUGET, IL – After an early explosion by the visiting Florence Y’alls that gave them a 4-0 lead after just two innings, the Gateway Grizzlies had their rally caps on for most of the night Saturday at GCS Credit Union Ballpark.

And it took awhile, but it finally worked, as Gateway rallied to score three runs in the fifth inning and another in the sixth, on a long blast home run by Axel Johnson.

Unfortunately though, that was all the runs the Grizzlies would get on Saturday, while the Y’alls pulled off a rally of their own — with two runs in the top of the ninth — to come away with a 6-4 win.

The game began with the Y’alls blasting the ball off Gateway starter Carlos Vega. Florence got its first run off a pair of back-to-back doubles by shortstop Luis Pintor and designated hitter Chad Senio in the top of the first inning.

Then in the second, third baseman Taylor Bryant ripped his first homer of the season. And then after a line drive single by first baseman Jordan Brower, catcher Jackson Pritchard blasted his first homer as a professional player over the left-field wall to give the Y’alls a 4-0 lead.

Through those first two innings, just everybody that actually hit the ball off Vega, hit it hard. His pitching line through two innings included, two doubles, two homers, a hit batter, and a couple of line shot singles.

That was the negative side. On the positive side, Vega had five strikeouts and picked a runner off first to get the first six outs.

Once he found his rhythm, Vega really got rolling. The 25-year old righthander from Silver City, N.M., whose in his first season with the Grizzlies, retired the Y’alls three-up and three-down over the next three innings and only allowed one more baserunner before leaving the game in the sixth.

Vega left with the game with the score 4-3, as Gateway which had just one hit through the first four innings, got its offense rolling in the bottom of the fifth.

First baseman Connor Owings got things started with a double off the wall in left. He was then thrown out trying to advance to third on a groundball off the bat of rookie Eric Jones.

It was clear Owings was just trying to make a play to get his team going. But that time, he was just being too aggressive and got himself thrown out because of it.

That didn’t stop the Grizzlies though.

With two outs, centerfielder Dustin Woodcock lined a single up the middle to put runners on first and second. Then leadoff man Abdiel Diaz popped a ball into deep right field that Florence’s Jose Brizuela misjudged and let bounce over his head.

Jones and Woodcock scored and Diaz raced all the way around to third for a two-run triple. Then, on the next pitch, right fielder Nick Rotola lined a ball into the left-centerfield gap that scored Diaz to make it 4-3.

The big blow of the night came an inning later when Johnson his second homer of the season (and second in two nights) way over the right field wall to tie the score at 4-4.

Gateway had a chance to take the lead in the seventh, when Diaz reached on a single and advanced to third on a pair of wild pitches. But the Grizzlies couldn’t get him in and the game eventually went to the ninth still tied at 4.

A couple of defensive miscues hurt Gateway in the ninth.

Brower led off the top of the ninth for the Y’alls with a walk. He then advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt that he probably should have been thrown out on but Grizzlie third baseman Jose Rosario made a bad throw that allowed Brower to reach second safely.

Brower eventually made it to third, then scored what proved to be the winning run on a wild pitch by reliever Justin Watts (0-1) who took the loss. Tenne scored later in the inning on a groundball and those two runs were enough to get Florence its first win of this series.

The two teams will battle for the series win on Sunday at GCS Credit Union Ballpark. First pitch is scheduled for 5:45 p.m.

Rookie righthander Kevin Hahn is expected to start for the Y’alls, while second-year lefty Aaron Ford will take the mound for the Grizzlies.