Grizzlies Burned Again with Two Outs in Loss
Gateway sees three-run lead slip away in rubber-game defeat at Florence
FLORENCE, KY. – The Gateway Grizzlies fell victim yet again to the Florence Y'alls' two-out magic on Thursday night, seeing an early 3-0 lead disappear into a 5-3 defeat in the rubber match and final game of their road trip.
The Grizzlies struck first for the third time in three games in the series, beginning the third inning with back-to-back doubles by Victor Castillo and Darryl Lee, the latter of which driving in the game's first run against Y'alls starter Jonaiker Villalobos (3-3) and making it 1-0. Bryson Horne then followed suit a couple batters later with an RBI double of his own to score Lee, and later came around to score himself on a two-out base hit by José Alvarez for a 3-0 lead.
The lead would not hold. Florence got their first run back in the bottom of the fourth in a high-traffic inning against Grizzlies southpaw Blake Peyton. The Y'alls loaded the bases with one out, but Peyton was able to limit the damage to just a run-scoring single by Dillon Baker, which came with two outs in the frame.
Florence would then complete their comeback in the bottom of the sixth. After Albert Rivas got the first two outs, a walk brought up Baker again, who continued his season-long trend of killing Gateway with an RBI double off the left field wall to bring the game to within one run at 3-2. The hit also forced a Grizzlies pitching change, and Andrew Ronne (2-4) would then surrender a go-ahead three-run home run to Florence catcher Zach Beadle, making the score 5-3.
That would also stand up as the final margin on the scoreboard, bringing the number of two-out runs allowed in the series to 17 out of the 19 total runs the Y'alls plated in the three games.
After two weeks away from Sauget in total, including the all-star break, Gateway returns home to Arsenal BG Ballpark on Friday night at 6:30 p.m. CT to host the Lake Erie Crushers, with reigning Frontier League Pitcher of the Week Ben Harris getting the start.
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.