Grizzlies third basemen Abdiel Diaz slides into third base during Saturday night’s Frontier League baseball game at GCS Credit Union Ballpark in Sauget. (Photo courtesy: Gateway Grizzlies)
by Cedric Williams
Senior Editor
SAUGET, IL – The Gateway Grizzlies snapped a six-game losing Saturday night, thanks to a thrilling 7-6 win over the Evansville Otters at GCS Credit Union Ballpark.
The Grizzlies banged out three home runs in the game, including a three-run bomb off the bat of shortstop Justin Jones in the bottom of the fourth inning that gave Gateway a lead it wouldn’t relinquish.
The blast by Jones was his fourth homer of the season and put the Grizzlies up 5-4. Gateway had fallen behind 4-0, after Evansville scored four times in the second inning, even though the Otters only managed one hit in that inning.
Gateway starting pitcher Jack DiCenso walked two batters, hit a batter, and the defense committed an error, which allowed the first four Evansville batters of the inning to reach base. All those runners scored and the Otters, who defeated the Grizzlies in an 8-7 shootout on Friday, were ahead again.
The Grizzlies got a couple of those runs back in the bottom of the second, when Evansville’s defense faltered and committed a couple of errors of its own.
The score was 4-2 heading into the fourth, when a one-out walk and a single set up Jones with a chance to spark his team and the paid crowd of 2,998 that was in attendance. And Jones didn’t miss his chance, as he launched a 3-1 curveball over the left field wall to give Gateway the lead.
Later in the inning, rightfielder Jack Harris blasted his second homer of the season to put the Grizzlies up 6-4.
The Otters got a run in the top of the seventh to make the score 6-5, but Gateway got that run right back in the bottom of the inning, when catcher Andres Regnault launched his team-leading 13th homer of the season to make it 7-5.
Evansville got another run in the top of the eighth, on a two-out hit by second baseman Josh Allen – his third RBI of the night – to pull within a run again.
Then in the ninth, the Otters got two runners on with two outs, but Gateway’s Carson Cupo got Evansville’s Miles Gordon to fly out for the final out in what would be a Grizzlies victory.
The win put an end to a six-game losing streak for Gateway, whose last win came in the first game of its most recent road trip. A game in Evansville, which the Grizzlies won 3-2.
Despite the rough beginning, DiCenso pitched well. He went five innings and only gave up those four runs, only one of which was earned, and just four hits to get his first win as a Grizzlie.
The rookie from Nichols College in Dudley, Mass., was making just his second start after signing with Gateway on August 23.
Evansville’s Braden Scott (6-4) took the loss, after giving up seven runs and nine hits in 6 2/3 innings pitched.
Cupo got the save for the Grizzlies. It was his first save in nine appearances as a rookie this season.
The two clubs will play their final matchup of the season against one another on Sunday at GCS. Rookie righthanders Matt Mulhearn (2-4) for Gateway and Polo Portella (8-2) are expected to start the game for their respective clubs.
First pitch on Sunday is scheduled for 5:45 p.m.