The Gateway Grizzlies were able to avoid a sweep at the hands of the Windy City ThunderBolts, winning 5-3 on Thursday night in the series finale at GCS Credit Union Ballpark.
The Grizzlies went right to work in the bottom of the first inning as Clint Freeman drove in a run on an RBI double to make it 1-0. In the next inning, Jose Rosario hit the first pitch he saw over the left field fence for a solo home run to double the Gateway lead, and later in the frame, Trevor Achenbach added another Grizzlies’ run on a sacrifice fly to make it 3-0.
Windy City answered in the top of the third with an RBI groundout from Nikola Vasic to make the score 3-1. However, Gateway would get that run back thanks to an RBI single in the bottom half by Cam Touchette to get the Grizzlies back to a three-run lead at 4-1.
In the top of the fifth, Matt Mulhearn loaded the bases with two outs when the ThunderBolts’ Daryl Myers connected on a two-RBI single to cut the Gateway lead to 4-3. But once again, Gateway responded in the bottom of the frame, with Jay Prather scoring from third base on a passed ball to make it 5-3.
Relievers Taylor Sugg (1-0), John Murphy, and Reed Hayes took over from there, combining for four scoreless innings and five strikeouts to nail down the victory, with Hayes striking out two in a flawless ninth for the save.
The Grizzlies will continue the homestand with three games this weekend against the Evansville Otters. Sam Gardner will take the mound for Gateway against Justin Watland for Evansville in the series opener on Friday night, June 3 at 6:45 p.m. at GCS Credit Union Ballpark.
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.
