All-Star catcher Landon Hernandez enjoyed one of the greatest nights in Gateway Grizzlies history Saturday night at GCS Ballpark in Sauget, Ill., when he clobbered three home runs and set a new club record with eight RBIs, to lead the home team to a 14-4 victory over the visiting River City Rascals.
Gateway is now 41-27 on the season — still the best record in the Frontier League this season — and now own a 2 1/2 game lead in the West Division standings over the Schaumburg Boomers, who lost their game on Saturday evening against the Rockford Aviators, to fall just a bit further back of the Grizzlies.
But even as the Frontier League pennant races heat up, the subject on everybody’s minds this day is what Hernandez did on Saturday.
His three home run blasts tied a league and team record last set by Rogelio Noris last season against the Traverse City Beach Bums, while the eight RBIs bested the previous team-best of seven, and was just one short of tying the league record for RBIs in one game.
The fun for “Lando”, as his teammates and Grizzlie fans call him, began in his first at-bat in the bottom of the first inning, when he gave Gateway an early 4-0 lead with a grand slam home run off River City starting pitcher Tommy Mendoza.
Two innings later, Hernandez helped jump start what eventually became a seven-run Grizzlie rally, with a three-run bomb (again off Mendoza) that made the score 7-0 Gateway.
By the time the Grizzlies were done though, they’d sent 10 men to the plate, and added a two-run double by Vladimir Frias and a two-run homer by Jonathan Johnson, to go up 11-0 through three innings.
Hernandez was back at it again in the fourth, when brought the standing room only GCS crowd of 5,027 to its feet again, with a long homer off the team office building beyond the wall in left field.
That blast was a solo shot and gave Gateway a 12-0 lead. The Grizzlies would eventually lead 14-0 before a pair of back-to-back home runs by Johnny Morales and Phil Wunderlich finally got River City on the board.
Rookie Jake Stephens (3-2) was the beneficiary of Hernandez’s historic night, collecting his third win in his last four starts.
Mendoza (4-4) took the loss for River City, which fell to 31-34 on the season.
Game 2 between the Grizzlies and Rascals is slated for Sunday night at GCS, with Tucker Jensen (6-4) getting the start for Gateway and Casey Barnes (5-3) doing the same for River City.
GATEWAY GRIZZLIES REMAINING SCHEDULE
August 4 vs. River City Rascals ………………. 7:05 p.m.
August 5 vs. River City Rascals ………………. 7:05 p.m.
August 7 vs. Rockford Aviators ………………. 7:05 p.m.
August 8 vs. Rockford Aviators ………………. 7:05 p.m.
August 9 vs. Rockford Aviators ………………. 7:05 p.m.
August 10 at Traverse City Beach Bums ….. 6:05 p.m.
August 11 at Traverse City Beach Bums ….. 4:05 p.m.
August 12 at Traverse City Beach Bums ….. 6:05 p.m.
August 14 vs. River City Rascals ……………. 7:05 p.m.
August 15 vs. River City Rascals ……………. 7:05 p.m.
August 16 at Evansville Otters ……………….. 6:35 p.m.
August 17 at Evansville Otters ……………….. 6:35 p.m.
August 18 at Evansville Otters ……………….. 6:35 p.m.
August 20 at Washington Wild Things ……. 6:05 p.m.
August 21 at Washington Wild Things ……. 6:05 p.m.
August 22 at Washington Wild Things ……. 6:05 p.m.
August 23 vs. Windy City ThunderBolts …. 7:05 p.m.
August 24 vs. Windy City ThunderBolts …. 7:05 p.m.
August 25 vs. Windy City ThunderBolts …. 6:05 p.m.
August 27 vs. Southern Illinois Miners …… 6:35 p.m.
August 28 vs. Southern Illinois Miners …… 6:35 p.m.
August 29 vs. Southern Illinois Miners …… 6:35 p.m.
August 30 vs. Rockford Aviators …………… 7:05 p.m.
August 31 vs. Rockford Aviators …………… 7:05 p.m.
September 1 vs. Rockford Aviators ……….. 7:05 p.m.
September 3 at Southern Illinois Miners …. 7:05 p.m.
September 4 at Southern Illinois Miners …. 7:05 p.m.
September 5 at Southern Illinois Miners …. 7:05 p.m.
