SAUGET, IL- Brandon Peters homered for the Gateway Grizzlies with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning Friday night, leading them to a 3-2 defeat of visiting Rockford in front of 3,622 at GCS Ballpark.

The win moves the Grizzlies (47-44) to within a game of Rockford (48-43) for the final wild card spot in the Frontier League playoffs.  The loss ends an eight-game winning streak for Rockford.

The home run for Peters was his first as a pro, and came in his return to the lineup.  Peters had one at-bat for the Grizzlies earlier in the month, but left the game with a sprained ankle.  He has been on the injured list since.

Joel Boeschen (5-2) earned the win in relief.  Boeschen tossed four scoreless innings.  He allowed just three hits and struck out four.

The Grizzlies twice had one-run leads but gave up the lead the following half inning.  They led 1-0 after the second inning.  Alex Kerins led off the inning with a double and scored on an RBI-hit by Chris Pecora.  Rockford tied the game at one with a run in the third.

The Grizzlies took a 2-1 lead in the fourth.  Kerins led off the inning with a single, then scored on a sacrifice fly by Robbie Minor.  Jason James tied it with a home run in the fifth for Rockford.

Kerins finished 3-4 with a pair of runs. 

Garrett Bauer (10-5) suffered the loss for Rockford.  Bauer tossed all eight innings allowing three runs on five hits.  He struck out eight.