Grizzlies Exhibition Season Begins

Baseball season is finally here for the Gateway Grizzlies!  I hope everyone stayed patient.  I'm sure everyone is ready for the season to begin.  I know I am!

Spring Training started this week and I was able to get out to the field to catch some of the action.  With high school and college games going on at GCS Ballpark, the Grizzlies have been training at SIU Edwardsville.  A lot of the players showed up prior to camp, but organized practice didn't start until Thursday.  The Grizzlies only had two official practices before their Exhibition season started tonight.  The Grizzlies took on the Southern Illinois Miners in the first EXH game for both teams at Capaha Field in Cape Girardeau, home of Southeast Missouri State.  The Grizzlies were victorious by the score of 6-0 in a 10-inning ballgame.  Grizzlies pitchers were outstanding, giving up just 6 hits.  Everyone threw the ball well, which is very encouraging.

Here are some notes from the Grizzlies first Exhibition game of 2011:

   *Mark Brackman got the start and looked sharp.  The 6-7 right-hander went two innings, giving up just one hit and striking out two.
   *Reiging Frontier League MVP Charlie Lisk threw out two runners trying to steal.  He also stole a base himself. 
   *We got our first look at former Cubs prospect Aaron Shafer, who was a second round pick of the Cubs in 2008.  Shafer threw a scoreless inning of relief.  He will most likely be used as a starter for the Grizzlies.
   *Ryan Khoury, a former Boston Red Sox prospect who had two stints at Triple-A Pawtucket, had a 2-2 night.  Khoury had two singles and a walk.
   *Josh Whitlock, Nick Walters, John Semel, J.R. Boling, Chris Enourato and Corey Davisson  also worked scoreless innings for the Grizzlies.
   *The big hit of the night was an 8th inning tie-breaking Grand Slam from former Detroit Tigers farmhand Chris Sedon.  Sedon, who is fighting for a roster spot, made a good case for a spot with one swing of the bat.  Sedon also made a couple of spectacular plays in the field.
   *Former Ole Miss Runnin' Rebel David Phillips finished the night 2-2 with an RBI walk. 

The Grizzlies are back in action Tuesday at home against the Miners in another Exhibition contest.  First pitch is set for 11:35.  We hope to see you at the ballpark for that one!  I will start to post a lot more with the season now underway.  More updates to come on Tuesday.  Talk to you soon!