The Gateway Grizzlies’ recent offensive woes persisted Wednesday night at EQT Park, as they suffered a 3-2 loss to the Washington Wild Things. The defeat marked their first series loss in two weeks.
Dale Thomas once again led the way at the plate for Gateway, delivering the game’s first run in the opening inning. Facing Washington left-hander Zander Sechrist (1-3), Thomas ripped a single up the middle to plate Victor Castillo and give the Grizzlies an early 1-0 advantage.
That run provided some early breathing room for starter Xander Lovin (0-3), who turned in his strongest outing of the season despite taking the loss. Lovin surrendered the lead in the third when he walked in a pair of runs with the bases loaded, but he settled in nicely afterward. The only other blemish came in the fifth, when Isaias Quiroz launched a leadoff solo homer to push Washington’s lead to 3-1. Lovin worked six innings total, allowing three runs while striking out three.
From there, Sechrist took control. The southpaw was economical and effective, limiting the Grizzlies to just one run over 6⅓ innings on only 71 pitches.
Thomas provided another spark in the seventh, crushing a leadoff home run to cut the deficit to 3-2. The Grizzlies appeared poised to tie the game later in the frame after Jose Alvarez doubled, Sawyer Smith was hit by a pitch, and Davie Morgan walked to load the bases with just one out. However, Mitchell Sanford popped out to shallow left, and Castillo grounded out to second, squandering the opportunity and sealing the loss.
The Grizzlies will look to avoid a series sweep and salvage the finale of their road trip Thursday night. First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. CT at EQT Park, with Gage Vailes getting the ball for Gateway against Washington’s Maddox Long.
