Grizzlies Swept in New Jersey
Gateway fights back from early deficit, but suffers another heartbreaking loss
PATERSON, N.J. – The Gateway Grizzlies continued an unfortunate historic trend on the road against an Atlantic Conference opponent on Sunday at Hinchliffe Stadium, giving up a go-ahead solo home run with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning to rookie outfielder Noah Furcht in a 5-4 loss to the New Jersey Jackals, sealing a frustrating series sweep to close out the long trip.
The Jackals gained a 3-0 advantage with seven hits in the first three innings off Gage Vailes, but the right-hander would permit just one more hit in his final three innings of work, striking out nine batters over six frames to keep Gateway in the game.
The Grizzlies' offense woke up in the fourth, with Jose Alvarez knocking an RBI single into the outfield to make the score 3-1. After Gustavo Sosa's solo homer in the same inning expanded the deficit back to three runs, Victor Castillo cranked a solo shot of his own to nearly the exact same spot over the right-center field wall to make it 4-2 New Jersey. Bryson Horne would follow in the frame with an RBI single to draw the Grizzlies within one.
After Vailes held New Jersey off the board in the bottom of the fifth, breaking a streak of five straight unsuccessful shutdown innings in the series, Castillo came up again and tied the score with another solo home run to right-center field, making Sunday his first-career multi-homer game, and knotting things up at 4-4.
Vailes and Andrew Ronne kept the tied game state intact over the next two innings, but in the bottom of the eighth, Julio Ortiz (0-1) took the mound, and after striking out two batters in a row, he fell behind 3-1 to Furcht, who loaded up for a fastball and guessed correctly, hitting his first professional home run out to left field for a 5-4 lead.
The Grizzlies got the tying run on base in the top of the ninth, but could not advance him past first base, dropping to 11-25 all-time against current members of the Atlantic Conference on the road with nearly half of those defeats coming on walk-offs or in their opponents' final turn at bat, including three times out of four losses on their now-concluded road trip.
Now 20-19 on the season, Gateway will look to regroup at home on Tuesday, June 23, entertaining the Florence Y'alls once again at Arsenal BG Ballpark. Ben Harris will take the mound in the series opener, with first pitch scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT.
The Gateway Grizzlies are a professional baseball team, located a mere 10 minutes from downtown St. Louis in Sauget, Illinois. The Grizzlies offer baseball fans affordable, family fun at Arsenal BG Ballpark with a great view of the St. Louis skyline. They have also won two Frontier League Organization of the Year Awards, four West Division titles, and the 2003 Frontier League Championship. For tickets or general information, please visit gatewaygrizzlies.com or call (618) 337-3000.
The Frontier League debuted in 1993, and is the largest of the Major League Baseball Partner Leagues, featuring teams stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River, and from the Ohio River to the St. Lawrence Seaway. More information and the complete 2026 schedule can be found at frontierleague.com.