The Southern Illinois Miners fell behind 3-0 in the second, closed to within 3-2 in the third but got no closer in a 6-2 loss to the River City Rascals in O’Fallon, dropping the second game of the series to take their first road series loss of the season.
For the second straight night, after a scoreless first, the Rascals got on the board with the long ball in the second. A three-run homer by Josh Ludy that just got over the left field wall made it 3-0 River City against Rick Teasley (8-3)and the Miners. Southern Illinois got right back at the Rascals in the top of the third inning, also with the long ball as Steve Marino led off with a single and two batters later, Toby DeMello crushed a two-run homer to right-center field to make it a 3-2 ballgame.
That would be the closest the visitors got in the contest. The Rascals added single runs in the fourth on a Ludy sacrifice fly and in the sixth on a suicide squeeze by Johnny Morales to make the score 5-2 before also scoring in the bottom of the eighth on a double by Morales for a 6-2 margin. The Miners got a leadoff walk in the top of the ninth by Craig Massey and a double by Michael Earley as well as a walk by Frank Martinez to load the bases and bring the tying run to the plate, but two strikeouts by Rascals relievers ended the ballgame.
Southern Illinois will look to salvage the series finale on Thursday night at 6:35 p.m., starting newest Miner Tim Flight on the hill against River City right-hander Tommy Lawrence.
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.
