SAUGET -- The Rockford RiverHawks and the Gateway Grizzlies combined for 37 runs, 31 hits and eight errors Friday night in a marathon series-opener won by the RiverHawks 20-17 at GCS Ballpark.
The Grizzlies (37-54) built leads of 7-1 and 16-9 only to lose them both. Down 1-0 after one-half inning, the Grizzlies scored twice in the bottom of the first on a two-run home run by Charlie Lisk. The Grizzlies went on to score five times in the second inning. Alex Kerins homered to lead off the inning. Nate Lape and Peter Tountas hit back-to-back home runs in the inning. For Tountas, it was his first professional home run.
Lisk finished the night 2-5 with three RBIs. His home run, his 28th of the year, was his fourth in as many games, and leaves him one shy of the single-season record set by Dustin Roberts in 2007. He now has 81 RBIs, that is three shy of Mike Breyman's franchise record set last season.
Rockford (42-47) tied the game with three runs each in the third and the fourth innings. They took an 9-7 lead with a pair of runs in the fifth inning.
The Grizzlies seemed to take charge in the sixth. Gateway scored eight runs on five hits for a 16-9 lead. Lape had a two-run double in the inning. Brandon Johnson and Joe Agreste also added RBIs in the inning. The eight runs are the most the Grizzlies have scored this year in a single inning.
Lape finished the night 3-for-6 with a career-best four RBIs. Johnson was 2--for-4. Agreste was 1--for5 with two RBIs.
Rockford used an eight-spot of their own in the eighth inning to go up 17-16. The Grizzlies answered with a run in the bottom of the inning to even the score 17-17 going into the ninth. Rockford capitalized on two Grizzlies errors to break the tie with three ninth inning runs.
Chris Wiman (4-2) suffered the loss for the Grizzlies. He allowed the three runs on three hits. Neither starter lasted past the third inning. Jamie Arneson started for the Grizzlies and allowed seven runs over 3 2/3 innings.
Rockford's Matt Enderle gave up eight runs in 3 1/3 innings.
The Grizzlies and RiverHawks continue the series with a 6:05 p.m. game tonight at GCS Ballpark.
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