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The Gateway Grizzlies scored four runs in the bottom of the first inning to go ahead early on Wednesday night, while Lukas Veinbergs (5-4) pitched a “quality start” on the mound in a 6-1 victory over the Florence Y’alls at Grizzlies Ballpark. With the win, the Grizzlies tied their longest win streak of the season at six in a row, while lowering their magic number to clinch a playoff spot down to 1.
In the bottom of the first inning against Florence starter Ty Good (1-1), Gateway went to work right away. Gabe Holt led off with a single and reached second base on a fielding error by Thomas Jones in left field, and he would score on an RBI single by Peter Zimmermann to make it 1-0.
After a stolen base by Zimmermann and a wild pitch, he would score as well on a sacrifice fly by D.J. Stewart to give Gateway a 2-0 lead. Abdiel Diaz would follow with a two-out double, setting up Edwin Mateo, who blasted a two-run home run off the back wall in right field to increase the Grizzlies’ lead to 4-0.
In the fourth inning, Hank Zeisler led off with a triple for the Y’alls, and scored on an RBI groundout by T.J. Reeves to make it a 4-1 game, but in the bottom of the same inning, Cole Brannen hit the Grizzlies’ second homer of the night, a solo shot to right field that got that run back to make it 5-1 Gateway.
Zimmermann would cap the scoring in the bottom of the seventh inning, cranking his fourth home run of the series out to left-center field for the final 6-1 score. The blast was his 20th of the season, tying Joliet’s Matt Warkentin for the Frontier League lead, as well as his 11th run batted in over the last three games.
Veinbergs, meanwhile, allowed six scattered hits and three walks in his six innings of work, bending, but not breaking, as he struck out six and stranded seven Florence runners on the bases, earning his fifth win on the year as Gateway also took their 13th series in their last 14 overall since the start of July.
Thanks to a Schaumburg loss on Wednesday to Lake Erie, the Grizzlies enter the series finale against the Y’alls tomorrow, Thursday, August 22, needing either a win OR another Boomers loss to the Crushers to clinch their second straight playoff appearance. Alvery De Los Santos will start on the mound for the Grizzlies against Florence southpaw Evan Webster, with first pitch set for 6:30 p.m. CT at Grizzlies Ballpark.
