Boomers take series finale from Grizzlies
A slow start halted the Gateway Grizzlies' chance of a series victory in a 5-2 loss to the Schaumburg Boomers on Sunday night at GCS Ballpark in Sauget.
The Grizzlies (24-41) trailed 3-0 early on and couldn't spark a comeback.
Schaumburg (28-38) used a strong start from former Grizzlie pitcher Brett Mabry (4-2) in the victory. Mabry tossed 6.2 innings of two-hit ball against his former team.
The lone blemish of Mabry's night came in the seventh inning with Schaumburg leading 3-0.
Blake Brown followed a Ben Waldrip single by crushing a home run over the left-field fence to cut the deficit to 3-2. The home run was one of only five hits given up by Mabry.
The momentum seemed to be swinging Gateway's way, but the Boomers answered with two runs in the eighth inning to extend the lead back to three.
Jordan Wellander allowed a walk and a single to put two runners on for Kyle Ruchim with two away. Ruchim delivered with a double to plate Valadez and Bennett and put Schaumburg up 5-2.
The runs turned out to be insurance for Schaumburg. Clark Labitan and Dexter Price pitched 2.1 scoreless innings out of the bullpen to close things out. Price picked up his second save of the season with a 1-2-3 ninth inning.
Rookie Dillon Shaw (0-1) struggled in his first professional start. He worked himself out of trouble in the first two innings before surrounding three runs in the two innings that followed.
A leadoff walk to Alexi Colon came back to hurt Shaw in the second inning. Colon advanced to second when Ty Nelson singled and to third base after KJ Stark misplayed a groundball. The next batter Willi Martin then lifted a fly ball deep enough to score Colon and put Schaumburg on the board.
Shaw loaded the bases in the fourth inning after issuing two walks and a single to start the inning. The final walk to Ruchim knocked Shaw out of the game and Jordan Spencer came in to pitch in relief.
This story was originally published August 2, 2015 at 10:49 PM with the headline "Boomers take series finale from Grizzlies."