Gate City continues newfound momentum with first road and third straight win

Gate City recorded another first Monday night at The Lab in Logan, Utah.

The Grays picked up their first road win of the season in an 8-2 victory. They’ve now racked off three straight wins to get themselves just a game under .500 at 5-6.

“Us as a coaching staff, we’re relieved,” said Gate City head coach Rhys Pope with a laugh. “I think that’s a huge stepping stone for us. It can kind of be a little bit easier to gear up for a game when you’ve got all the fans in the stadium like we do at home. So to be able to get a win on the road was huge.”

Gate City left little doubt, too.

It jumped out to a 7-0 lead with nearly all of those runs coming in the top of the fourth. The Grays put up a six spot in that inning alone.

Tyler Vance got it going by scoring after Kyler Spracklen was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Michael Christensen followed with a two-run RBI single to center field. Brayden Pieper and Shane Sinclair then both drove in runs before Pieper capped the big inning by stealing home on a passed ball.

“We had good at-bats. We sprinkled in some walks in there. We sprinkled in hits. We took extra bases when we were able to,” Pope said. “Anytime that you can put up a number like that, it’s awesome. It really swung and kept the momentum in our favor and put the game away.”

Jason Jones’ performance on the bump helped with that, as well.

He started the game by retiring the side in order and didn’t allow a hit until the fifth inning. Jones allowed just three hits and one earned run to go along with three strikeouts in six full innings of work.

Pope said he would have let him go for the complete game, but Jones had already thrown 95 pitches.

“We don’t want to push them too far. So it was like, ‘Hey, you’ve done your job, let your teammates pick you up and take you the rest of the way,” Pope said. “But from the jump, he dominated the strike zone. He was able to work ahead quickly and then put it away. He didn’t have a ton of strikeouts, but he was successful in attacking hitters, threw pitches that he wanted to and was able to induce weak contact. And as a coaching staff, we love that.”

Pieper went 3-for-4 from the plate with a pair of doubles and RBIs. Christensen and Spracklen also posted multi-hit games with two apiece. Christensen and Sinclair drove in two runs, too.