SAUGET – The Gateway Grizzlies got another outstanding performance on the mound from starter Zac Treece (2-1) on Saturday night against the Mississippi Mud Monsters, as he pitched six innings for the “quality start” before three relievers held the visitors off the board the rest of the way in a 4-0 victory at Arsenal BG Ballpark.
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Treece permitted at least one runner on base in every inning, but did not allow any Mud Monsters to reach base with less than two outs until the fifth, eventually finishing six frames for the second straight start with four strikeouts and two walks in his second straight win.
He received early run support in the second inning from the Grizzlies’ offense. Dale Thomas and Jose Alvarez led off the inning with back-to-back hits, and Gateway would eventually take a 2-0 lead in the frame on RBI groundouts to second base by Tanner Garrison and Abdiel Diaz against Mississippi starter Rodney Theophile (2-3). The home squad would double their lead in the bottom of the fifth inning, with D.J. Stewart drawing a leadoff walk, and Mark Shallenberger clubbing a two-run home run to right-center field to make it a 4-0 ballgame.
That would be all Gateway needed to take the series from the Mud Monsters, as Alec Whaley tossed a scoreless seventh inning, Francis Peguero worked a 1-2-3 eighth, and Keegan Collett worked around a couple of hits in the ninth to finish off the contest.
Now a perfect 5-0 against Mississippi this year, the Grizzlies will look to sweep the series from the Mud Monsters for a second time on Sunday, June 22, at Arsenal BG Ballpark. Lukas Veinbergs takes the mound for the series finale against Mississippi right-hander Luis Devers, with first pitch scheduled for 5:30 p.m. CT.
Late Comeback Falls Short for Grizzlies
SAUGET – The Gateway Grizzlies almost put forth another one of their patented comebacks on Sunday night against the Mississippi Mud Monsters, but left the tying run at third base in the ninth inning after trailing by sixth in the eighth in an 8-7 loss at Arsenal BG Ballpark.
The Mud Monsters got on the board with three runs in the top of the third inning against Lukas Veinbergs (2-3), and then plated a fourth run on four straight hits with two outs in the fifth inning to go up 4-0. Gateway’s bats were unable to catch up to Mississippi starter Luis Devers (4-3) until the bottom of the sixth inning, when Mark Shallenberger kept his bat hot with a two-run home run, with his second dinger in as many nights making the score 4-2.
Unfortunately for the Grizzlies, their bullpen faltered in the seventh and eighth, as Jett Thielke surrendered a two-out, three-run home run that just cleared the short wall in right field to make it 7-2, and Mississippi also plated a run against Bennett Stice in the eighth to go ahead 8-2. Those runs would prove critical, as after Devers departed the game in favor of Sergio Sanchez in the eighth, the Grizzlies began their comeback.
Gabe Holt and Victor Castillo led off the frame with a walk and single, respectively, and D.J. Stewart brought both men home with a screaming line-drive, three-run home run over the high wall in left field, cutting the deficit in half and making the score 8-5. Then, in the ninth, Jose Alvarez led off with a walk, and Castillo worked a two-out base-on-balls, forcing Mississippi to make another pitching change.
On Chris Barraza’s first pitch to Stewart, he swung and drove the ball to left-center field, bidding for a three-run, walk-off homer, but settled for an RBI double high up on the outfield wall, making the score 8-6. A wild pitch by Barraza then brought in Castillo to draw the Grizzlies within a run and send the tying run to third base. But Shallenberger could not be the hero a second time, flying out to left field as the visitors escaped and avoided the three-game sweep.
Following the series win over the Mud Monsters, the Grizzlies will have an off day on Monday before resuming their nine-game home stand on Tuesday night, June 24, back at Arsenal BG Ballpark against the Evansville Otters. First pitch of the series opener is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT, with Claudio Galva getting the start on the mound for the home team.
Grizzlies Blast Mississippi in Series Opener
SAUGET – The Gateway Grizzlies bounced back into the win column in a big way on Friday night, pounding out a season-high 22 hits and scoring in every single inning but one in an 18-3 blowout over the Mississippi Mud Monsters at Arsenal BG Ballpark.
In the first inning, the Grizzlies pounced on Mississippi starter Joshua Paulina (2-3) right away, as Mark Shallenberger brought in Gabe Holt with a two-out RBI single to make it 1-0, went to second base on the throw from the outfield, and scored on a subsequent RBI single by Abdiel Diaz, putting Gateway ahead 2-0.
That lead did not last long, as the Mud Monsters scored three runs in the top of the second inning to take the lead back, going ahead on a two-run homer by Victor Diaz that wrapped around the left field foul pole. But those were the only runs Ben Harris (2-0) allowed in his home debut for the Grizzlies, as the rookie right-hander pitched a “quality start” by lasting six innings and striking out three batters.
Meanwhile, Gateway continued to pile on offense all night long. In the bottom of the second inning, they loaded the bases with one out for Victor Castillo, who smashed a grand slam deep over the right field wall to put the Grizzlies ahead to stay at 6-3. After a single and a walk, Diaz and Dale Thomas came up with back-to-back RBI hits for an 8-3 advantage, and a passed ball and wild pitch later in the inning capped off the frame with a 10-3 lead for the home team.
The Grizzlies would go on to score two more runs in the third on a wild pitch and another RBI single by Thomas, one run in the fifth on an RBI single by Jose Alvarez, three runs in the sixth thanks to an RBI double by Shallenberger and a Thomas sacrifice fly along with another passed ball, and single runs in the seventh and eighth for the final 18-3 margin.
A whopping five batters for the Grizzlies had at least three hits in the contest, led by a career-best four from Thomas in a 4-for-5 performance along with three runs scored and three RBIs. Alvarez, Diaz, D.J. Stewart, and Edwin Mateo had the other three-hit nights, while Thomas joined three other Gateway batters with three runs scored in the balanced, team effort.
Now 4-0 this season against Mississippi, the Grizzlies will look to make it back-to-back wins over the Mud Monsters in the middle game of the weekend set on Saturday, June 21. Zac Treece will start on the mound for Gateway against the Mud Monsters’ Rodney Theophile, with first pitch scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT.
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