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Miners Fall To Slammers In Middle Game

by Jason Guerette

The Southern Illinois Miners came back from a 4-1 deficit with three runs in the sixth inning, but Joliet scored those runs right back in the bottom half of the inning and topped the Miners 7-4 on Saturday night at Silver Cross Field to even the series at one game apiece.

The Miners were able to jump on top in the second when they brought home a run from third on a double play against Joliet starter Adam Panayotovich (1-0), but Joliet rallied off Jon Klein to tie the score at 1-1 in the bottom of the inning. The Slammers then took the lead on a solo home run by Casey Fletcher in the fourth and extended the lead out to 4-1 with a two-run bottom of the fifth against Klein and Brandon Cowan.

The Miners then came back to tie the score in the sixth. After leadoff singles by Adrian English and Eric Strano put runners at first and third, Aaron Gates hit a sac fly to left to make it 4-2. Michael Earley then walked to chase Panayotovich and after a strikeout by former Miner David Kubiak, Frank Martinez banged a single up the middle for a 4-3 ballgame. Jerrud Sabourin then hit a sharp grounder to first that was booted by Nate Roberts to score Earley and tie the game at 4-4.

The Slammers were able to rally back in their half of the inning for three more runs, though, with two on a home run by Roberts against Ryan Brockett (1-2), and they held on from there. Martinez finished 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored for Southern Illinois, who will look to win the series in the rubber match on Sunday evening at 5:05 p.m. Jarett Miller will start for the Miners against former Southern Illinois left-hander Michael Carden.

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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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