MILWAUKEE – Gavin Theis pitched 8 2/3 scoreless innings and held Oakland to just six hits as the Milwaukee Panthers blanked the Golden Grizzlies by a 5-0 score on Friday evening.
 
Theis tied his career-high in strikeouts with eight, needing 117 pitches to get the first 26 outs of the game for Milwaukee. Logan Snow was able to finish the job for the Panthers' first shutout since the 2023 season.
 
"It begins and ends with number 18 on the mound today," said head coach Shaun Wegner on Theis. "He was really dialed in … he had a little fan support here, and he gave them a show … he dominated the strike zone and let his defense work."
 
Theis allowed singles in the first two innings but got assistance from the defense on ground-ball double plays
 
Charlie Marion got the scoring started for Milwaukee with a solo home run in the bottom of the second, before back-to-back doubles from Justin Hausser and Teige Lethert gave the Panthers a two-run lead.
 
"It really came down to the slug," added Wegner on the offense. "We had to get the ball in the air to do some damage and we were able to do that a couple of times, and they weren't, and that's really the difference on the scoreboard."
 
Theis upped his strikeout number as the game progressed with two strikeouts in each in the fourth and fifth innings.
 
The Panther offense continued with a Marion single ahead of a two-run home run down the left field line off the bat of Caden Headlee. Milwaukee scored one more in the seventh on a ground ball to cap the scoring at five.
 
Theis walked a batter with one on and two down in the ninth before being lifted for Snow. On the seventh pitch of the at bat, Snow got a ground ball to end the ballgame.
 
Matthew McGann had two of Oakland's six hits on the day while Hunter Pidek struck out six Panthers over his six innings of work. Ethan Glassman struck out one batter over his two innings of work.
 
Milwaukee and Oakland will play game two of the series on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. at Franklin Field.