The New York Boulders smashed eight home runs and staved off a late rally to defeat the host Gateway Grizzlies, 17-13, in a game filled with long balls at GCS Credit Union Ballpark in Sauget, IL, on Friday.

Chris Kwitzer and Gabriel Garcia each hit a pair of home runs for the Boulders, while Austin Dennis, Giovanni Garbella, Ray Hernandez and Gian Martellini had one apiece. For the Grizzlies, Isaac Benard went deep twice, while Clint Freeman and Zach Racusin also homered.

Garcia and Kwitzer went back-to-back with solo shots in the second, while Kwitzer added another solo shot in the third and Garcia did likewise in the fourth. The home runs gave Kwitzer 15 on the season, while the pair of dingers for Garcia gave him 11 on the year.

Dennis had opened the night’s scoring with a two-run blast in the top of the first inning – his fifth of the year; while Garbella hit a three-run shot in the second inning, his eighth of the season.

Hernandez added a two-run blast in the seventh inning – his first since rejoining the team a week ago; while Martellini followed with a solo home run, his seventh of the year.

The Boulders pounded six Gateway pitchers for 20 hits in the win as all nine starters in the batting order had at least one hit. Meanwhile, the Grizzlies had 16 hits in the loss.

The Boulders scored six times in the second inning to grab an 8-0 lead; after the Grizzlies scored twice in the bottom of the frame, New York tacked on two runs each in the third and fourth frames as they moved out to a 12-2 advantage.

Gateway scored twice in the fifth inning, but the Boulders answered with a single tally in the sixth to take a 13-4 lead. After the Grizzlies pushed across three runs in the bottom of the sixth, New York responded with four in the top of the seventh to increase their advantage to 17-7.

The Grizzlies made things interesting with a six-run eighth inning that included a two-run single by Freeman, his third and fourth RBI of the game, that cut their deficit to 17-13.

Kwitzer finished the night with four hits, while David Vinsky, Garcia and Martellini each posted three hits. Dennis and Hernandez had two hits apiece.

Kwitzer, Garbella and Vinsky each knocked in three runs, while Dennis and Hernandez had two RBI apiece.

Benard’s two solo home runs gave him 16 on the year for Gateway, while Freeman’s homer was his 13th of the season and Racusin’s his third.

Benard tacked on an RBI single in the eighth inning to give him three RBI on the night.

Robby Rowland was the recipient of the offensive explosion for New York, picking up the win that leveled his season mark at 3-3.

Anderson DeLeon was tagged with the loss for the Grizzlies in his season debut.

Information regarding season tickets and packages for the Boulders’ 2022 season are available by calling 845-364-0009 or sliding to www.NYBoulders.com.