Blake Brown’s home run in the eighth inning lifted the Gateway Grizzlies to a 4-3 win and series victory over the Frontier Greys on Sunday night at GCS Ballpark.
Brown’s solo shot to lead off the eighth broke a 3-3 tie and gave Gateway (19-34) its second consecutive victory. The Greys (24-27) received a fine start from RHP Bobby Shore, who allowed three runs (one earned) in seven innings of work, but the Greys’ bullpen couldn’t close things out.
Gateway RHP Scott Harkin struck out the side in the ninth inning to notch his first save of the season and secure the win. He pitched in relief of Jordan Wellander (2-1) who earned the win after pitching 1.1 scoreless innings.
Gateway jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the first inning. Madison Beaird reached first base on an error by Shore, stole second base and advanced to third on a wild pitch. After Blake Brown walked, Beaird came around to score on yet another wild pitch to give Gateway a 1-0 lead. Tyler Tewell then delivered a two-out RBI single to extend the lead to 2-0.
Starter Vince Molesky allowed three runs in 6.2 innings of work, with all the runs coming via the long ball. Dillon Haupt and Zach Tanner each hit solo home runs in the fourth inning to tie the game at 2-2. After Gateway went ahead in the bottom half of the fourth when Cody Livesay singled home a run, the Greys answered right back. Shane Brown led off the fifth inning with a solo home run to tie the game once again at 3-3.
The game stayed that way until the eighth inning, when Brown delivered the game winning home run. Brown and Richard Seigel paced the Grizzlies offensively with two hits each.
After a day off on Monday, the Grizzlies hit the road for a six game stretch beginning with three games at Southern Illinois. RHP Trevor Richards (1-4, 4.15) will pitch for the Grizzlies in game one. Sam Levitt will call the action on the Grizzlies Radio Network, which airs on 101 ESPN’s digital channels and 1400 AM KJFF.
