MILWAUKEE, Wis. - The Golden Grizzlies swept the Milwaukee Panthers in its weekend series as it took home both wins in today's doubleheader at Franklin Field.
GAME ONE
The Golden Grizzlies got the game started early as
Trent Rice found base pads and eventually made his way across the plate after
Lucas Day hit a sacrifice fly for a quick one-run lead. The Panthers answered, however, as it started its bats off with a triple and tied the game up at one apiece after it crossed the plate following a ground out. It wasn't until the third inning where the Panthers took a lead as a double drew in a runner to make it 2-1 after three.
It was a defensive battle as each team kept the others hits to a minimum, until Milwaukee hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth to put the lead to three, followed by another run in the seventh to make it 5-1. The Golden Grizzlies only had six outs to work with to try and grab some runs, and it answered in a big way in the eighth.
John Lauinger found the base pads on a walk and advanced to second off a ground out as the Golden Grizzlies put on a two-out rally to get back into the game. Back-to-back walks loaded up the bases as
Gavin Arseneau came in and was hit by a pitch to bring one home. On a 1-2 count,
Reggie Bussey took advantage and knocked down a bases-clearing triple towards left field to tie the game up at five apiece.
During its final at-bat, Oakland loaded the bases once again off two hit by pitches and a single, as a walk brought home the eventual game-winning run. The Panthers attempted a comeback but fell short as the Golden Grizzlies made three quick outs to take game one of the double-header and take the series, with at least two wins on the weekend, 6-5.
GAME TWO
The second leg of the doubleheader didn't get going until the bottom of the fourth as the Panthers struck first and got two runners on base as a double knocked both Panthers in to make it 2-0. The Golden Grizzlies answered though with two of its own in the fifth, as
Trent Rice saw four-straight balls and stole both second and third as Lauinger drove him home from a single. Lauinger eventually made his way to second off a passed ball, while
Brandon Nigh doubled down the left field line to knot things up at two after five.
The team kept it rolling in the following inning as the bases were loaded and
Trent Rice saw four balls go his way and brought home a run. The Golden Grizzlies didn't stop there and continued to see pitches outside the zone as it scored its second run of the inning off a bases-loaded walk. The three-run inning was capped off as
Erik Larsen crossed home plate off a fielder's choice to put Oakland up, 5-2.
The scoring didn't stop there as two batters got hit by a pitch, as
Ben Clark tripled towards center field to bring in two more runners and extend its lead to five with three more innings to go. The Panthers got one more in the eighth, but it was too late as the Golden Grizzlies swept the series and took the second game of the doubleheader, 7-3.
UP NEXT
The Golden Grizzlies come back to Michigan as it'll face off against Eastern Michigan Tuesday (April 9) at Oestrike Stadium, with first pitch slated for 3:00 p.m.
