Deylen Miley set several strikeout records in the Gateway Grizzlies’ win over the Lake Erie Crushers on Saturday. (Photo courtesy: FrontierLeague.com)
| Frontier League | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gateway Grizzlies | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 11 | 0 |
| Windy City ThunderBolts | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
WP: Deylen Miley (8-3) LP: Will Armbruester (3-7)
CRESTWOOD, IL — Starting pitcher Deylen Miley delivered a record-breaking and historic performance in leading the Gateway Grizzlies to a 5-0 win over the Lake Erie Crushers on Saturday.
The righthanded fireballer from Bryan, Ohio, struck out a team record 16 batters, including a Frontier League record 10 straight, and also set a Gateway Grizzlies single-season record for strikeouts.
Miley, who now has 148 Ks on the year, did not allow a hit until the fourth inning. But that runner never budged, as Miley went on an unprecedented streak of pitching dominance to make sure Lake Erie did not score on him.
He struck out the next 10 batters. That was every batter in the Lake Erie lineup, plus the first batter got K’d a second time.
With the tenth and final strikeout of that streak, he recorded his 15th strikeout of the game, setting yet another Gateway club record for strikeouts, surpassing Derek Blacksher’s mark of 14 batters fanned from August of 2008.
He is also now sixth in Frontier League history in strikeouts by an individual pitcher in a single campaign.
But the history did not stop there for the Grizzlies, as Matt Hickey struck out one batter in the eighth, and Keegan Collett struck out the side in the ninth inning.
That gave the Grizzlies’ pitching staff 20 strikeouts for the game, also breaking the previous team record for a single game of 18. In addition, with their second straight shutout on the mound, Gateway’s staff has now pitched a season-high streak of 21 2/3 consecutive scoreless frames overall.
While Miley maintained Lake Erie’s offense, the Grizzlies offense got going and generated enough runs to win the game.
Victor Castillo had three hits, three RBIs, and two stolen bases, while Edwin Mateo and Dale Thomas each had two hits. Thomas also had an RBI, a stolen base, and scored two runs.
But the story of the night was Miley (8-3), whose official stat line was 7.0 innings pitched, no runs allowed, two hits and two walks allowed, and 16 strikeouts. Relievers Matt Hickey and Keegan Collett each pitched a scoreless inning to close out the night.
The win moved Gateway’s season record to 50-32 and lowered the team’s magic number to clinch a playoff spot down to five and their magic number to clinch homefield in the West Division Wild Card Game to eight.
The Grizzlies will go for the series sweep on Sunday. First pitch at Ozing Field is set for 1:05 p.m.
Teague Conrad will start for Gateway and face Windy City ace Buddie Pindel.
UPCOMING GATEWAY GRIZZLIES BASEBALL GAMES
| Date | Time | At | Opponent | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 18, 2024 (Sunday) | 1:05 pm | Away | Windy City ThunderBolts | Ozinga Field / Crestwood, IL |
| August 20, 2024 (Tuesday) | 6:30 pm | Home | Florence Y’alls | Grizzlies Ballpark / Sauget, IL |
| August 21, 2024 (Wednesday) | 6:30 pm | Home | Florence Y’alls | Grizzlies Ballpark / Sauget, IL |
| August 22, 2024 (Thursday) | 6:30 pm | Home | Florence Y’alls | Grizzlies Ballpark / Sauget, IL |