FOR RELEASE: JUNE 23, 2009

GRIZZLIES SWEPT BY MINERS DESPITE STRONG START BY BRACKMAN

MARION,IL-Mark Brackman tossed his second consecutive complete game Tuesday night, but it wasn’t enough as the Southern Illinois Miners edged the Gateway Grizzlies 2-1 to sweep the three-game series at Rent One Park.

Brackman (2-4) allowed a pair of unearned runs on only three Southern Illinois hits. He struck out three and walked just a single hitter. After not throwing a complete game in two previous professional seasons, Brackman has now thrown back-to-back complete games for the Grizzlies (11-19).

Southern Illinois (18-12) scored single runs in the first and second innings. Tony Roth scored on a fielder’s choice in the first, after reaching second earlier in the inning on an error by Grizzlies’ second baseman Brad Thoma. Randy Molina led off the second inning and reached on an error by shortstop Brandon Johnson. Molina was score on a two-out triple by Mike Higa.

The Grizzlies only run came in the fifth inning. Joseph Scaperotta led off the inning with his ninth home run of the year. The homer tied him for the team lead and extended his hitting streak to 13 games.

The Grizzlies will take Wednesday off before welcoming River City to GCS Ballpark for a two-game series beginning Thursday night. First pitch is set for 7:05 pm.

Joe Pott

Broadcaster

Gateway Grizzlies Frontier League Baseball