By: Braeden Jones
SAUGET, IL – Dueling grand slams on both sides creates a close finish in the final of a three-game series, but it would be the Joliet Slammers (32-46) who would sneak out the win against the Gateway Grizzlies (36-42) on Sunday to win the series, taking home the 8-7 victory.
The Slammers would score as quickly as they could in the top of the 1st inning. After an Ian Battipaglia single led off this game, Blake Berry would make it count with an RBI single to score Battipaglia, starting this game with Joliet in the 1-0 lead.
The Slammers would keep the scoring rolling in the top of the 3rd. Patrick Ward would get a single to lead things off, and a single from Berry alongside a fielding error that got him to second base would score Ward from first. Peyton Carr would follow that up with an RBI single to score Berry. Jackson Beaman would deliver the last scoring play of this half-inning with an RBI double to bring Carr home, now advancing Joliet’s lead to 4-0.
The Slammers would see their four runs on the board and decide to double it in the top of the 4th inning. Ward would get to first base from a fielder’s choice single, and a walk on Berry alongside a hit by pitch on Jackson Valera would load the bases. Carr then came up to the plate to deliver a grand slam well over the left field wall to get Joliet’s advantage up big at 8-0.
Eight unanswered runs were as far as the Slammers would get as the bottom of the 6th would be the Grizzlies’ time to shine. Two singles for Dale Thomas and Sawyer Smith got things rolling, and a walk on Victor Castillo got the bases loaded. The two lead runners would get to score when a 2-RBI single for Jose Cordoba got Thomas and Smith to home plate. Gateway had finally gotten on the board as the score was now 8-2.
The Grizzlies knew what it would take to come back in this game and would prove they had what it would take in the bottom of the 7th inning. A hit by pitch on Darryl Lee alongside two walks on Abdiel Diaz and Thomas would once again load the bases for Gateway. Bryson Horne would take full advantage of this opportunity by hitting a grand slam of his own to match Carr’s, this time sending it deep to right field. The Grizzlies would have been happy with just that in this half-inning, but another score would find its way onto the board. Smith would knock down a double and would score thanks to an RBI single from Cordoba shortly after. Just like that, this game was competitive at a 8-7 score.
In a moment where the Slammers only led by one run with two innings left to play, that would end up being all that they needed as this game would close at that same score, meaning Joliet had held on to win 8-7 and win the series against the Grizzlies.
Having just enough scoring in the tank to survive a close battle, the Slammers will get a well-deserved day off on Monday before starting a home series against the Schaumburg Boomers on Tuesday. After just barely failing to complete the 8-run comeback at home, the Grizzlies will have Monday to recover before heading out to Evansville to play the Otters in their next series, starting Tuesday.
