Grizzlies Walk-Off Against Evansville

Hello all!

What a great game last night at GCS Ballpark!  The Grizzlies came from behind to defeat the Evansville Otters in walk-off fashion.  4-3 was the final score after John Shelby brought home Aaron Conway on a sacrifice fly to center to win it.  Gateway has now won two straight one-run games.  Below are a couple of Radio Highlights from last nights win, including the call of the walk-off.

Grizzlies May 30th Radio Highlights

Vladimir Frias made some sparkling defensive plays once again at shortstop.  Included in the post are a couple of neat pictures from last night.  Paul Baillargeon (ActionImaging.com) captured Vladimir flying in the air after the win and then John Shelby got a pie to the face in the clubhouse during postgame.

Rubber game of the series is tonight.  St. Louis native Tim Brown goes for Gateway.  First pitch is at 7:05 and the Budweiser Pregame Show begins at 6:50 on the Grizzlies Radio Network.  Go Grizzlies!

Voice of the Grizzlies, Adam Young

Grizzlies Finish Up Road Trip With Two Wins

Hello all!

The Grizzlies are back in town after a six-game road trip through Pennsylvania and Canada.  After dropping the first four games, three of them by one-run, Gateway rallied and won the final two games in Canada to finish off the trip with a 2-4 record.  Below are radio highlights from the road trip.

Grizzlies Road Trip Radio Highlights Late May

Gateway enters play this week at 4-5.  They have six @ GCS Ballpark against the Evansville Otters and the Traverse City Beach Bums.  It was great to see Gateway finish off the trip on a high note and in impressive fashion.  After finally picking up a win in a close game on Saturday, Gateway picked up a convincing 11-1 W on Sunday after a three-hour rain delay.

It was great to see Chris McClendon and Antone DeJesus start to swing the bat well on the road trip.  Jerod Yakubik stayed hot and the pitching has been outstanding, both starters and bullpen guys.  We'll know a lot more about this team after this six-game homestand.  I'm predicting a 5-1 record during these six to give GWY a 9-6 record into their six-game road trip next week in Schaumburg and Lake Erie.

Don't forget, you can listen to every Grizzlies game on the Grizzlies Radio Network: 590 AM KFNS, 1400 AM KJFF, kfns.com, gatewaygrizzlies.com and the FREE KFNS app on your cell phone.

Go Grizzlies!

-Voice of the Grizzlies, Adam Young

Grizzlies Start Season Strong

Hello all!  It was a great season-opening series for the Grizzlies @ GCS Ballpark.  Gateway took two of three from the reigning Frontier League Champion, Joliet Slammers.  After falling in the opener 7-1, the Grizzlies controlled the rest of the series, outscoring the Slammers 16-4 over the final two games.  Below are radio highlights from the first three games of the season!

Grizzlies Opening Series Radio Highlights

Offense:

All Photos courtesy of Paul Baillargeon/Action Imaging.com

Landon Hernandez had a HUGE series.  He is currently second in the league in batting average at .600 and he's tied for the league lead with 7 RBI.  Lando hit 2 HR's and drove in 6 on Sunday afternoon.

John Shelby and Jerod Yakubik both got off to good starts, while Jonathan Johnson got on base at a high rate over the week.  Overall, the Grizzlies scored 17 runs in the three games.

Defense/Pitching:

The defense and pitching have been outstanding so far.  The Grizzlies only committed one error in the three games while Tim Brown and Alex Kaminsky turned in quality starts.  The bullpen has been solid as well.  John Shelby, Vladimir Frias and Chris McClendon  made some spectacular plays defensively over the weekend.

Time now for the Grizzlies to hit the road for six games.  I'm writing this from the bus on our way to Washington, PA.  Gateway takes on Washington Tuesday-Thursday before heading to Canada for three with the Rippers over the weekend.  More to follow in the coming days.  Talk to you on the Grizzlies Radio Network Tuesday night at 5:50 CT for the Budweiser Pregame Show.  Go Grizzlies!

Voice of the Grizzlies, Adam Young

Grizzlies Begin Season Friday Night at GCS Ballpark

Hello all!  3 days until Opening Day..Friday night is when it all begins @ GCS Ballpark.

Gateway opens up their season with a three-game series from Friday-Sunday against the Joliet Slammers.  While a few roster changes will be made prior to the season starting, the roster is almost set.  Grizzlies manager Phil Warren made 8 cuts after the game on Saturday night and because of a few injuries, the Grizzlies have been taking a look at a couple of new guys leading up to the season.

The Grizzlies are currently 3-2 in exhibition play with one more preseason game remaining tomorrow @ 4:05 on the road against the River City Rascals. 

Last Saturday night was our first and only broadcast of the preseason.  It was the return of Charlie Lisk..in case you missed it, click the link below to find out what we did.  Safe to say, Charlie put on a show in his return.

Grizzlies-Rascals Exhibition Charlie Lisk Big Game

I'll talk to you Friday night on the Grizzlies Radio Network.  6:50 with the Budweiser Pregame Show and first pitch at 7:05.  Here's the Grizzlies pitching rotation for the weekend.

Friday:  RHP Cale Johnson
Saturday:  RHP Tim Brown
Sunday:  RHP Alex Kaminsky

Can't wait..go Grizzlies!

      -Voice of the Grizzlies, Adam Young

Grizzlies @ Miners May 10th (Exhibition Game #2)

Hello fans!

The Grizzlies take on the Southern Illinois Miners for the second straight day as the exhibition season rolls on.  First pitch is set for 10:05 AM from beautiful Rent One Park in Marion, IL.  Gateway fell to Southern Illinois 6-5 yesterday afternoon.

I had the chance to catch up with Grizzlies manager Phil Warren during batting practice earlier today.  Click on the link below to hear Phil's thoughts on the Grizzlies exhibition opener yesterday.

Grizzlies manager Phil Warren Pregame Interview May 10

First pitch is almost here.  Below is the Grizzlies batting order and pitching rotation for today (note: the Grizzlies are not using the DH..they are only batting 8 players).

1.) Springfield CF
2.) Harris 2B
3.) Rigby 1B
4.) Weik 3B
5.) Shaw LF
6.) Popescu RF
7.) Jimenez SS
8.) Dunning C

RHP Alex Kaminsky gets the start for the Grizzlies.  Below is a list of the other hurlers who are scheduled to throw today.

RHP Jonathan Gonzalez
RHP Phillip Reamy
RHP Chris Enourato
RHP Maurice Bankston

Follow the Grizzlies twitter account (@gatewaygrizzlie) for in-game updates.  Go Grizzlies!

        -Voice of the Grizzlies, Adam Young

Aaron Conway Highlights Grizzlies Exhibition Opener

Hello all!  Exhibition game #1 is in the books with the Grizzlies falling to the Southern Illinois Miners in front of 2,300 plus fans earlier today @ GCS Ballpark.  It was game one of five straight days with an exhibition game.  Here's what I saw from today:

Photo courtesy of Paul Baillargeon/ActionImaging.com

Aaron Conway stood out.  If you came to the game as a casual fan, you came away impressed by #2 in the Grizzlies white uniform, whether you knew him or not.  He had the lone home run of the day, for either side, and made a spectacular diving catch in center that brought fans to their feet.  I said to someone the other day.."Aaron Conway will hit .320 + this season"..that seems like a big number, but boy can Aaron hit.  Be on the lookout tomorrow at gatewaygrizzlies.com for an outstanding feature my broadcast partner Alex Wilson did on Aaron.  It's the first story in his 'Grizzlies Spotlight' series..Alex put together a great piece.  A local product (Triad HS) shining for the Grizzlies..great story.

Photo courtesy of Paul Baillargeon/ActionImaging.com

Pitching was pretty good.  Erik Carillo and Ryan Juarez combined to throw four scoreless relief innings.  I came away impressed with both.  Carillo was in command and Juarez had a great feel for his breaking ball, which is rare for your first appearance of the season, but then again Ryan is a hard worker and has prepared hard for this moment.

More to come tomorrow as the Grizzlies take on the Miners for the second day in a row.  We are on the road for the next two days..@ Southern Illinois tomorrow and @ River City Friday.  It's an early bus trip in the morning with the 10:05 start time.  I will be posting bright and early.

My plan is to catch up with Grizzlies manager Phil Warren during batting practice and post my audio interview with him along with the Grizzlies lineup for the day.  I should have that posted by 9:45, which is 15 minutes before first pitch...and then if fans are interested in getting updates during the game, I will be updating the Grizzlies twitter page (@gatewaygrizzlie).

Grizzlies Radio Broadcast note:  We had fans contacting me today about the Grizzlies exhibition broadcast schedule..we will be broadcasting the EXH game on Saturday night.  That's a 7:05 first pitch and I'll come on the air at 6:50 with the Budweiser Pregame Show.  That's the only EXH we will broadcast, but of course we will have all 96 regular season games.  Listen to the call all season long on the Grizzlies radio network:  590 AM KFNS, 1400 AM KJFF, gatewaygrizzlies.com, kfns.com and the KFNS FREE App on your cell phone.

Talk to you bright and early from Rent One Park on Thursday.  Go Grizzlies!

      -Voice of the Gateway Grizzlies, Adam Young

13 Days Until Gateway Grizzlies 2012 Season Opener

The time has finally come..players reported to GCS Ballpark this week for spring training, which means we are officially underway in 2012!

Two preseason practices are in the books and the team will continue to prepare for the exhibition opener next Wednesday @ GCS Ballpark against the Southern Illinois Miners at 11:35 AM.

I've mentioned in past posts that Grizzlies manager Phil Warren has said this is the most competitive spring training he's ever been a part of with the Grizzlies.  There is competition at nearly every position and numerous players are battling for roster spots.  The roster currently has 35 players..it needs to be within the 22-24 range by the end of spring training.  Therefore, some very good players are going to be let go in the next few weeks because of the #'s game.

The question everyone is asking..who looks good so far in spring training?  Well, from what I've seen and gathered, a couple of guys really stand out.  Keep in mind, nothing matters until we start playing games and I haven't been able to watch spring training very close yet (I will have better insight when the EXH games begin).

With that said, former Triad HS and Missouri State star Aaron Conway looked very good during BP on Thursday.  He was a guy the coaching staff was high on entering camp, but I think he has really turned some heads in the first couple of days.  Expect Conway to be an outfield starter and a top of the order guy.

I had a chance to catch up with returning pitchers Ryan Juarez, Paul Tremlin and Richard Barrett the other day..all three are geared up and ready to go.  I expect those guys to be key contributors..don't be surprised if Barrett is one of the top relievers in the league this year.  He's an outstanding talent.

I had a chance to chat with Chris Enourato today..Chris was the Grizzlies Pitcher of the Year in 2011 and is one of the hardest workers in the league.  He has himself prepared every time he pitches..tireless worker and a great guy off the field as well.  It was nice to see Chris again.

Finally, Landon Hernandez is fresh off a strong 2011 season and a winter full of baseball in Australia.  It will be hard for Landon to match what he did last season, but he just might do that with another strong start.  This is Lando's third year with Gateway and he could be one of the veteran leaders on and off the field.

Opening night is Friday, May 18th against the Joliet Slammers.  Plenty more to come early next week with exhibition games beginning.  Below is the exhibition schedule for the upcoming week.  Go Grizzlies!

• May 9th vs. Southern Illinois (11:35)
• May 10th @ Southern Illinois (10:05)
• May 11th @ River City (4:05)
• May 12th vs. River City (7:05)
• May 13th vs. River City (6:05) *We will broadcast this Exhibition game on the Grizzlies Radio Network..it will be a 5:50 air time*

    -Voice of the Gateway Grizzlies, Adam Young