The day started with Matt Quintana making his first start as an Otter, as he was acquired in a trade with the Joliet Slammers.
Quintana had a scoreless first inning, recording two strikeouts, and Rob Calabrese caught Brent Sakurai stealing second for the third out of the inning.
The Otters started their scoring early, tallying two in the bottom of the first inning.
Long recorded his first RBI with a single to score David Cronin, and an RBI triple by Taylor Lane brought home Long to put the Otters ahead 2-0 after one.
The Grizzlies responded and tied the game at two in the top of the second inning.
Shawon Dunston Jr. hit a one-out double and would later score on a balk by Quintana.
Greg White singled to score Andrew Daniel to tie the game at two.
Gateway would take their first lead of the game in the top of the third on an RBI double from Luke Lowery, giving the Grizzlies a 3-2 lead.
The Otters answered in the bottom of the third with three runs.
After back-to-back walks to Cronin and Keith Grieshaber, Long ripped a two-RBI triple, as the Otters would retake the lead 4-3. Long would score on an Elijah MacNamee RBI single, giving the Otters a 5-3 edge.
The Grizzlies went to the bullpen after the third as starter Ian Kahaloa went three innings, allowing five runs on five hits. He earned the loss, dropping his record to 2-6.
The Otters matched their third inning run total with three more in the fourth.
Hunter Cullen scored on a wild pitch by Nick Stroud, and Grieshaber followed two batters later with a monstrous two-run home run to increase the Otters’ advantage to 8-3.
The Grizzlies did not go away as Shawon Dunston Jr. hit a two-run homer off Quintana to make it an 8-5 game.
Quintana finished the sixth inning, allowing five runs on eight hits with six strikeouts in his Otters debut. He earned the victory tonight, improving his record to 7-3 overall, and his first as an Otter.
Long recorded his fourth RBI in the bottom of the sixth on a single to score Calabrese. He would finish 4-5 with three singles, a triple and a pair of runs.
Cam Opp threw 1.2 innings, surrendering an RBI groundout to Dunston Jr. to score Lowery, making the score 9-6 Otters.
Taylor Wright pitched a scoreless ninth as the game ended on a 4-6-3 double play, earning his 13th save of the season for the Otters.
The Otters scored nine runs on 11 hits after being held scoreless on Friday.
The Otters will go after a series win in the rubber game Sunday at 12:35 p.m. from Bosse Field.
