The Gateway Grizzlies won two of three from the Washington Wild Things and three straight over the Joliet Slammers to push their win streak to five straight. (Photo: Primo Greenway)
| Frontier League Baseball | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joliet Slammers | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 1 |
| Gateway Grizzlies | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | X | 9 | 13 | 0 |
Jason Barnes
Staff Writer
SAUGET, IL — The Gateway Grizzlies got a huge day at the plate from leadoff man Andrew Moritz to and cruised to a 9-4 victory over the Joliet Slammers, Thursday night at Grizzlies Ballpark, sweeping the three-game series and improving the Grizzlies’ record to 12-6 on the year.
Moritz went 4-for-4 with two doubles, a home run, three runs scored, and two RBIs to help lead Gateway to its fifth straight win.
Just like the last two nights, Gateway put up multiple runs in the first inning to take the initial lead, with Moritz leading off against Brett Sanchez (1-1) with a blast down the right field line to make it 1-0, and Jack-Thomas Wold adding a two-out RBI single later in the inning to double the Grizzlies’ lead.
The Slammers had an answer, though, as they scored two runs on a pair of RBI fielder’s choice plays in the second inning to make the score 2-2, and then taking the lead in the third inning on a Jonathan Sierra RBI single at 3-2. Grizzlies starter Collin Sullivan (1-2) would settle in, however, and pitch a season-high six innings in the contest while permitting only one more Slammers run to cross the plate.
Meanwhile, the Gateway offense kept on scoring- in the bottom of the third, Kevin Krause continued his torrid series with a sacrifice fly that tied the score at 3-3, and in the fourth inning, Mark Vierling smacked a go-ahead two-run homer to right field, his first of the year, making the score 5-3. The Grizzlies also added a Gabe Holt RBI single later in the three-run inning to go ahead 6-3.
After the Slammers got one run back on a Tommy Stevenson RBI single in the fifth inning to make it a 6-4 ballgame, the Grizzlies expanded their advantage by scoring single runs in the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings, with Holt and Moritz picking up an additional RBI hit each, joined by Peter Zimmermann, who slammed his sixth homer of the season out to left field for the final margin.
Still just one-half game back of first place in the early West Division standings and having won eight of their last nine games overall, the Grizzlies will look to keep their momentum going when they open up the back end of their home stand on Friday, May 31, against the Evansville Otters.
First pitch at Grizzlies Ballpark is set for 6:30 p.m., with Teague Conrad (1-0) kicking off the series on the mound against Evansville’s Parker Brahms (1-2).
Gateway Grizzlies media information contributed to this story.
SCORING SUMMARY
| Innings | Play | V – H |
|---|---|---|
| Gateway Grizzlies 1st | A. Moritz (2) homered, RBI. | 0 – 1 |
| Gateway Grizzlies 1st | J. Wold singled, RBI; K. Krause scored. | 0 – 2 |
| Joliet Slammers 2nd | D. Stengren reached on a fielder’s choice, RBI; V. Nova out at second 2b to ss; T. Stevenson advanced to third; J. Sierra scored. | 1 – 2 |
| Joliet Slammers 2nd | J. La reached on a fielder’s choice, RBI; D. Stengren out at second 1b to ss; T. Stevenson scored. | 2 – 2 |
| Joliet Slammers 3rd | J. Sierra singled, RBI; A. Valdez scored. | 3 – 2 |
| Gateway Grizzlies 3rd | K. Krause flied out to rf, SAC, RBI; A. Moritz scored. | 3 – 3 |
| Gateway Grizzlies 4th | M. Vierling (1) homered, 2 RBI; D. Stewart scored. | 3 – 5 |
| Gateway Grizzlies 4th | G. Holt singled, RBI; A. Moritz advanced to second; C. Brannen scored. | 3 – 6 |
| Joliet Slammers 5th | T. Stevenson singled, RBI; J. Sierra advanced to second; A. Valdez scored. | 4 – 6 |
| Gateway Grizzlies 6th | G. Holt singled, RBI; A. Moritz scored. | 4 – 7 |
| Gateway Grizzlies 7th | A. Moritz doubled, RBI; A. Diaz advanced to third; C. Brannen scored. | 4 – 8 |
| Gateway Grizzlies 8th | P. Zimmerman (6) homered, RBI. | 4 – 9 |
UPCOMING GATEWAY GRIZZLIES BASEBALL GAMES
| Date | Time | At | Opponent | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 31, 2024 (Friday) | 6:30 pm | Home | Evansville Otters | Grizzlies Ballpark / Sauget, IL |
| June 1, 2024 (Saturday) | 6:30 pm | Home | Evansville Otters | Grizzlies Ballpark / Sauget, IL |
| June 2, 2024 (Sunday) | 1:05 pm | Home | Evansville Otters | Grizzlies Ballpark / Sauget, IL |
| June 4, 2024 (Tuesday) | 5:30 pm | Away | Ottawa Titans | Ottawa Stadium / Ottawa, Canada |
| June 5, 2024 (Wednesday) | 10:00 am | Away | Ottawa Titans | Ottawa Stadium / Ottawa, Canada |
| June 6, 2024 (Thursday) | 5:30 pm | Away | Ottawa Titans | Ottawa Stadium / Ottawa, Canada |
| June 7, 2024 (Friday) | 6:05 pm | Away | Québec Capitales | Stade Canac / Québec City, Canada |
| June 8, 2024 (Saturday) | 6:05 pm | Away | Québec Capitales | Stade Canac / Québec City, Canada |
| June 9, 2024 (Sunday) | 4:05 pm | Away | Québec Capitales | Stade Canac / Québec City, Canada |
| June 11, 2024 (Tuesday) | 6:30 pm | Home | Washington Wild Things | Grizzlies Ballpark / Sauget, IL |
| June 12, 2024 (Wednesday) | 10:45 am | Home | Washington Wild Things | Grizzlies Ballpark / Sauget, IL |
| June 13, 2024 (Thursday) | 6:30 pm | Home | Washington Wild Things | Grizzlies Ballpark / Sauget, IL |
| June 14, 2024 (Friday) | 6:30 pm | Home | Windy City ThunderBolts | Grizzlies Ballpark / Sauget, IL |
| June 15, 2024 (Saturday) | 6:30 pm | Home | Windy City ThunderBolts | Grizzlies Ballpark / Sauget, IL |
| June 16, 2024 (Sunday) | 1:05 pm | Home | Windy City ThunderBolts | Grizzlies Ballpark / Sauget, IL |