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BY JIM WIENERS

While the River City Rascals rebuild and try to get out of near the bottom of the Frontier League in independent minor league professional baseball, the cross the stateline Gateway Grizzlies, have been in a battle with the Windy City Thunderbolts, a team from the south Chicago suburb of Crestwood, Ill., for the top spot overall.

The Grizzlies, in their seventh year of existence, played Windy City six times in nine days, with the Frontier League All-Star game break separating the two series. The Grizzlies won three straight at Windy City’s Hawk Ford Field — 5-3, 21-5 and 9-6 — on July 7-9. Last weekend, July 13-15 at GCS Ballpark (formerly GMC Stadium) the Thunderbolts put a bolt of lightning on the Grizzles in winning three — 18-0, 5-0 and 12-9.

It was “kind of a weird series, no home field advantage,” said first-year Grizzlies manager Phil Warren, a former player with the Grizzlies and another Frontier League team, the Chillicothe (Ohio) Paints, and is a St. John Vianney High graduate. “We smoked them up there (at Hawk Ford Field), they smoked us down here,” Warren said in the GCS Ballpark clubhouse office last Sunday.

During the three-game sweep by Gateway the Grizzlies (36-13, first in the Frontier League West prior to July 16) set a new franchise record with a 12-game winning streak, breaking the old mark of 11 which was set in 2003. It was the first year of a five year managing career for former St. Louis Cardinal and Toronto Blue Jay pitcher Danny Cox. It was also the first year that Warren became a Grizzlies player after a request to Chillicothe to move to St. Louis because his mother was sick at the time and with Cox, whose number “34” was retired this year by the Grizzlies, Warren helped Gateway to their only Frontier League title so far.

Last weekend at GCS Ballpark Windy City (37-12, first in the Frontier League Central prior to July 16) hit 10 home runs, to one by the Grizzlies, including five last Friday (July 13) and four last Sunday.

Thunderbolt lead off batter and center fielder Rob Marconi hit three homers, one per each game. Windy City out hit Gateway 40-14 last weekend in Sauget and the Thunderbolts played errorless baseball.

In the three-game series July 7-9 in Crestwood, Ill., the Grizzlies outscored the Thunderbolts, 47-18. In the July 8 game the Grizzlies set franchise records for runs (21) and hits (25). The Grizzlies hit six home runs, two per day, including two July 9 by left fielder Dustin Roberts.

GRIZZLIE NOTE: Rookie outfielder Chris Gibson, who comes to Gateway from Southeast Missouri State University, is the son of Hall of Fame St. Louis Cardinals legend Bob Gibson.

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