Three Grizzlies earn All-Star roster berths
The Frontier League has announced its 2016 All-Star teams and the West Division roster includes three members of the Gateway Grizzlies: infielder Craig Massoni, catcher Tyler Tewell, and shortstop Logan Davis. It will be the first trip to the league’s All-Star festivities for all three players.
“I am proud of these guys and I know that they will represent the organization very well,” Grizzlies manager Phil Warren said. “They are three quality individuals and at the top tier of players in this league.”
Massoni will be the starting designated hitter for the West division. He has smashed seven homers while collecting 22 RBI through 45 games. He leads the Grizzlies with 13 doubles and is tied for second on the team with 47 hits.
A native of Danville, Calif., he joined Gateway last season after spending time in the San Francisco Giants minor league system.
Tewell gets the nod at starting catcher for the West division. The Matthews, N.C. native is one of the best hitters in the Frontier League as his .339 batting average ranks fifth among active players while he’s hit seven homers and 22 RBI.
Tewell owns a .598 slugging percentage, which is good for second in the league.
Davis, who spent a number of years in the Kansas City Royals organization, has been solid at shortstop in the first half. His average sits at .288 while he ranks third on the Grizzlies in runs scored and has 11 stolen bases this season. Davis joined the Grizzlies prior to the 2016 campaign.
The 2016 Frontier League All-Star Game is in Florence, Ky. at UC Health Stadium on Wednesday, July 13. This year’s festivities also include a home run derby and the induction of several new members into the Frontier League Hall of Fame.
Last game
The Grizzlies’ offense was not able to overcome an early deficit against the River City Rascals on Monday night as they fell 8-4 in the series finale. Although they had a six-game win streak snapped, the Grizzlies still won four of five games from River City over the holiday weekend.
Vince Molesky (2-4) put together an excellent performance after struggling to the start the game. The Rascals (21-24) touched him up with four runs in the first but he would bounce back to throw 8.1 solid innings.
He allowed a leadoff walk and five singles as the Rascals took a 4-0 lead before Gateway came to the plate. Molesky settled down from that point forward, retiring 23 of the next 26 batters he faced before giving way to Kevin Jefferis in the ninth. Jefferis would allow a walk and three runs in the ninth.
Trailing 4-0, the Grizzlies (25-22) slowly chipped away at the early deficit against Rascals starter Francis Ramirez (1-2). Brandon Thomas plated Gateway’s first run with sac fly in the third and would cut the deficit in half with an RBI single in the fifth.
Thomas struck again in the eighth against Shane Street with a moonshot deep over the right field fence. His seventh blast of the season made it 4-3.
After that, Zac Treece came in and retired the Grizzlies without another run coming across. He finished the game for River City and picked up his ninth save of the season.
This story was originally published July 5, 2016 at 4:04 PM with the headline "Three Grizzlies earn All-Star roster berths."