The Gateway Grizzlies took a 2-1 lead in the fifth inning Sunday but conceded four straight runs en route to a 5-2 loss to the Southern Illinois Miners at Rent One Park.
After clinching only their eighth series win in 23 tries all-time at Rent One Park with a 10-1 victory Saturday, the Grizzlies (21-30) were denied their first road sweep of the Miners (27-23) since 2010.
Gateway’s winning streak ended at three straight victories, which matched their longest streak of 2019.
Brent Sakurai, Connor Owings, and Luis Román had three straight first-inning singles to give the Grizzlies a 1-0 lead, the third time in as many games over the weekend series that Gateway scored in the opening frame.
Sakurai scored the run and Román drove him home. Owings’ single gave him a 10-game hitting streak.
Southern Illinois answered with a first-inning run of its own before Zak Taylor singled to give the Grizzlies a 2-1 advantage in the fourth. Taylor extended his hitting streak to five games and has at least one RBI in each of his last four games.
The Miners evened the score again with a run in the fifth inning and took the lead with two more in the sixth before adding an insurance run in the eighth.
Owings, Román, Taylor, and Shawon Dunston Jr. had two hits apiece for the Grizzlies.
Dominic Topoozian (4-3) took the loss. He allowed four runs (all earned) over 5 1/3 innings and struck out three.
Gateway will be off until Thursday for the Frontier League’s All-Star Break before returning home to take on the Florence Freedom at 7:05 p.m. CDT Friday.
