Gateway catcher Kevin Krause smacks one of four hits, he had in the Grizzlies’ 11-2 win over Lake Erie, Friday night at GCS Credit Union Ballpark. (Photo: Thomas Grove)
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Erie Crushers | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 2 |
| Gateway Grizzlies | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | X | 11 | 13 | 0 |
Torrance Terrell
Staff Writer
Sauget, IL — The Gateway Grizzlies had a big night at the plate, with 13 hits and 18 total baserunners, on their way to an 11-2 win over the visiting Lake Erie Crushers, Friday night at GCS Credit Union Ballpark.
Veteran catcher Kevin Krause led the way with four hits, an RBI, and two runs scored, while teammate Ian Bibiloni added the big blow of the night, when he crushed a grand slam home run over the left-field wall in the bottom of the first inning to help give the Grizzlies a lead they would never relinquish.
A crowd of 2,108 saw Gateway score six runs in the first, two more in the second, and three more in the sixth to take the first game of the final series of the season. Lake Erie had eight hits, but could only manage a single run off Grizzlie starter Brendan Feldmann, who picked up his seventh win of the season.
Feldmann (7-8) went six innings and gave up seven hits, a walk, and struck out seven. The only real mistake he made all night was allowing a solo home run to the game’s first batter, Lake Erie’s Connor Owings. From there, the veteran Gateway righthander cruised through the night in what will likely be his final appearance of the season.
With the Grizzlies up 6-1, Krause and Zach Racusin smacked back-to-back RBI singles to put Gateway up 8-1. The home team then added three more runs in the sixth, on a two run single by Racusin, and an RBI hit by Jay Prather. Racusin finished the night with three RBIs.
Bibiloni’s grand slam was his fifth home run of the season. The victory lifted Gateway’s season record to 45-49, while Lake Erie fell to 49-45.
The Grizzlies will be back in action against the Crushers on Saturday. First pitch for that contest is scheduled for 6:45 p.m.
| LAKE ERIE | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | LOB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Connor Owings 3b | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Kemuel Thomas-Rivera 2b | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Jackson Valera 1b | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kenen Irizarry ss | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| D.J. Stewart dh | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Austin White cf | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Najee Gaskins lf | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Bryan De La Rosa c | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
| London Green rf | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
| Kevin Holcomb p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nathan Holt p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kyle Seebach p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mark Moclair p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 35 | 2 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 7 |
BATTING
2B: Najee Gaskins
HR: Connor Owings (2)
RBI: Connor Owings (2)
BASERUNNING
SB: London Green
FIELDING
E: Kenen Irizarry , Austin White
DP: Kemuel Thomas-Rivera , Jackson Valera , Kenen Irizarry
| GATEWAY | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | LOB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andrew Penner 3B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Isaac Benard RF | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Kevin Krause C | 5 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Zach Racusin CF | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Clint Freeman 1B | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Trevor Achenbach 2B | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Jay Prather LF | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Ian Bibiloni DH | 4 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Abdiel Diaz SS | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brendan Feldmann P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Alec Whaley P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sam Gardner P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| John Murphy P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 37 | 11 | 13 | 10 | 5 | 8 | 8 |
BATTING
2B: Kevin Krause
HR: Ian Bibiloni (5)
RBI: Kevin Krause , Zach Racusin (3) , Jay Prather (2) , Ian Bibiloni (4)
GIDP: Jay Prather
BASERUNNING
CS: Abdiel Diaz
| LAKE ERIE | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kevin Holcomb (L, 1-1) | 1.0 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| Nathan Holt | 4.1 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| Kyle Seebach | 1.2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Mark Moclair | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Totals | 8.0 | 13 | 11 | 10 | 5 | 8 | 1 |
| GATEWAY | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brendan Feldmann (W, 7-8) | 6.0 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 1 |
| Alec Whaley | 1.0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Sam Gardner | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| John Murphy | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Totals | 9.0 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 2 |