The Gateway Grizzlies celebrate winning Game 2 of Wednesday night’s doubleheader against the Joliet Slammers at GCS Credit Union Ballpark in Sauget. (Photo: Nathan Assata)
by Cedric Williams
Senior Editor
After a quick weekend trip to Kentucky to play a three-game series against the first-place Florence Y’alls, the Gateway Grizzlies returned home Wednesday night to play a doubleheader against the last-place Joliet Slammers.
Joliet won Game 1, 7-5, but Gateway returned the favor and won Game 2, 2-1, thanks to an extra-inning home run derby contest that the Grizzlies won 9-8.
In Game 1, Gateway jumped out to a 2-1 lead, but Joliet scored the next five runs to go ahead 6-2 heading into the bottom of the sixth inning.
The Grizzlies scored two runs, on a pair of RBI singles by Nick Rotola and Abdiel Diaz. But that was as close as the home team would get, as Joliet added an insurance run in the top of the seventh to put the game away.
Chris Roycroft (3-1) was the winning pitcher for the Slammers, with teammate Trevor Charpie picking up his 12thtth save of the season. Rookie Matt Mulhearn (1-3) took the loss for Gateway.
Game 2 was a pitching duel, with veterans Tom Walker for Joliet and Geoff Bramblett of Gateway battling it out on the mound.
Bramblett, who began the year as Gateway’s closer but moved to a starter’s role due to injuries, tossed a sensational six innings and allowed just one run on four hits with no walks and 11 strikeouts.
Walker was almost just as good. He went five innings and allowed only one run on seven hits, with two walks and six strikeouts.
The only real mistake Walker made was on a 2-1 fastball in the bottom of the fourth, which Gateway’s Jose Rosario blasted over the left-centerfield wall for his sixth home run of the season.
With the way Bramblett was pitching that seemed like it might be enough to get the Grizzlies through for a win, but the Slammers put together three straight hits in the top of the sixth to tie the game at 1.
Neither team could score in the extra inning, so the game went to a Home Run Derby contest to settle the winner.
And that contest proved to be a wild one, as it went past its initial three rounds before it was finally settled in the fifth round, with Gateway winning 9-8.
The one win and one loss moved Gateway’s record to 30-38 on the season, while Joliet remained the team with the worst record in the Frontier League this season at 24-43.
The two teams will play the final game of the series and final game against one another this season, Thursday night at GCS Ballpark. First pitch is scheduled for 6:45 p.m.