Home Baseball Magic In Marion! Matt Bywater No-Hits Evansville!

Magic In Marion! Matt Bywater No-Hits Evansville!

by Jason Guerette

(Photo Credit: Richard Sitler)

The Southern Illinois Miners’ ace and reigning Frontier League Pitcher of the Year Matt Bywater silenced the Evansville Otters’ bats over nine innings, walking two and striking out ten to throw the second no-hitter in franchise history as the Miners shut out the visitors 3-0 on Friday night at Rent One Park.

The Thousand Oaks, California native became the second Miners pitcher to throw a no-hitter, exactly one year and one week after Rick Teasley threw the first on June 5th of last season. Bywater also became the first ever Miners pitcher to throw a nine-inning no-hitter with his magnificent effort, the 25th no-hitter in the history of the Frontier League.

The Otters got just two baserunners on the game, as Chris Sweeney walked in the fifth and Cory Urquhart did the same in the ninth, but Bywater (5-0) was perfect otherwise. The Miners offense scored twice on Jon Minucci’s two-out RBI single with the bases loaded in the fifth off of Evansville starter Trevor Walch (1-2). Southern Illinois scored again in the eighth off of Walch (who threw a complete game but took the loss) when Niko Vasquez singled home Jerrud Sabourin, who tripled to lead off the inning.

That was all Bywater needed to dominate once again on the mound in getting Southern Illinois back on the winning track at 16-9, while Evansville’s lead over the Miners in the East Division standings was trimmed to one game. Of Bywater’s ten strikeouts, five came in the final three innings and four were looking strikeouts, including the final out of the game when Kurt Wertz, Jr. was punched out, commencing the celebration at Rent One Park.

The Miners will take on the Otters again on Saturday night at 6:05 p.m., with a starter to be announced against Efrain Nieves for Evansville.

The Southern Illinois Miners are the 2014 Frontier League East Division Champions and the 2012 Frontier League Champions. They have been awarded the Frontier League Organization of the Year award three times since their inception, and also set a new Frontier League attendance record in 2007, their inaugural season. For ticket information, contact the Rent One Park box office at 618-998-8499. For any additional information, visit our website at www.southernillinoisminers.com.

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Jason Guerette is the Grizzlies' Director of Broadcasting and Media Relations and the "Voice of the Grizzlies." 2023 will be his second season with the organization, handling lead broadcasting duties on the Grizzlies Media Network as well as being in charge of all team press releases and game-day media materials.

2023 will also be Jason's ninth season in the Frontier League after spending 2014-21 in the same role with the Southern Illinois Miners. Overall, he has broadcasted close to 800 games in the league, including playoffs. During the baseball offseason, he serves as a play-by-play broadcaster for Manhattan College and the New Jersey Institute of Technology, with games being seen on ESPN+ among other platforms.

In addition to broadcasting, Jason works as a public address announcer for Seton Hall University women's basketball as well as Columbia University men's and women's basketball. He also spent nine years working "behind the scenes" as a freelance board operator and highlight editor at Westwood One for their coverage of the NFL, NCAA football, and NCAA basketball.

Jason graduated from Seton Hall in 2012 with B.A. in Communication Studies and a minor in Broadcasting & Visual Media.

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