EVANSVILLE, Ind. — The Gateway Grizzlies took a 3-2 lead in the third inning Saturday night, but the Evansville Otters’ offensive onslaught was too much in the middle innings and the Grizzlies ultimately succumbed to a 9-6 defeat at Bosse Field.
Gateway (33-50) fell to 2-4 on its week-long road trip, which will come to a close Sunday.
After the Otters (48-35) took a 2-0 advantage in the first inning, the Grizzlies answered with four straight hits — a Shawon Dunston Jr. double and singles from Andrew Daniel, Wesley Jones, and Greg White — to tie the game in the second. Dunston Jr. and Daniel scored the runs; Greg White collected the only RBI.
Gateway took the lead with a run in the third inning on a Luke Lowery RBI double that knocked home Dustin Woodcock. Lowery went 2-for-3 with two doubles and a walk to continue his weeks-long hot streak. Over his last 21 games, Lowery is hitting .358 with five home runs, three doubles, 15 RBIs, and a .506 on-base percentage.
Evansville responded with three runs in the bottom of the third inning and three more in the fourth.
Dunston Jr. supplied the Grizzlies with a two-run home run to right field — his seventh dinger of the season — in the sixth inning to cut the deficit to three runs, but they got no closer.
Ian Kahaloa (2-6) allowed five runs over three innings and took the loss.
Gateway and Evansville will finish their three-game series with a rubber match at 12:35 p.m. CDT Sunday. Reign Letkeman (3-3, 3.43) is the Grizzlies’ probable starter.