MARION, Ill. — The Gateway Grizzlies were held scoreless for the first seven innings Sunday night in an eventual 5-2 loss to the Southern Illinois Miners at Rent One Park.
Gateway (19-28) lost its fifth straight game, a season-long losing streak. Sunday’s game was the first and only contest of the Grizzlies’ seven-game road trip that was decided by more than one run. Gateway fell to seven games out of first place in the West Division.
Miners southpaw Aaron Rozek (2-0) tossed seven-plus innings and allowed only two runs (one earned) on three hits, all singles. He struck out three and walked five. Both runs charged to his record scored after he departed the game with nobody out in the eighth inning.
Southern Illinois (23-18) maintained its share of first place and won its season-best fifth straight game.
Miners rookie Harrison Bragg hit another home run — his second of the series and fourth in 10 games as a professional. Southern Illinois launched five round-trippers over the three-game series and passed the Grizzlies for second-most homers in the Frontier League this season.
Gateway has allowed 48 big flies this year, more than any other Frontier League club.
Southern Illinois scored five unanswered runs between, and including, the second and sixth innings before the Grizzlies scratched out a pair in the eighth. Matt Gonzalez and Trae Santos picked up RBIs.
Artemis Kadkhodaian had two singles — the only multi-hit game for the Grizzlies. Blake Brown singled and walked twice. For the second straight game, the Grizzlies did not have an extra-base hit. Their last hit for extra-bases was the very first at-bat of the weekend series (27 innings ago): Shane Mardirosian went yard over the wall in right-center field to lead off Friday night’s game.
Gateway will return home to face the Windy City ThunderBolts at GCS Credit Union Ballpark for All-American Week, a three-game series that opens Monday at 7:05 p.m.
