The Gateway Grizzlies fell behind against the Schaumburg Boomers in the early innings, but came back to take the lead and then expand it late, scoring six unanswered runs in a 6-2 victory at Wintrust Field on Tuesday night.Â
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Matt Bottcher’s solo home run and Blake Grant-Parks’ two-out RBI double staked the Boomers to a 2-0 advantage in the bottom of the third inning, but after Schaumburg starter Blake Stelzer (1-2) held the Grizzlies off the board in the first four frames, Gateway pounced in the fifth. Clint Freeman hit a double with one out, and Jackson Pritchard followed with a game-tying, two-run home run to make the score 2-2.Â
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But Gateway was not done there. With two outs, Andrew Penner and Breland Almadova hit singles, and Trevor Achenbach came up clutch with an RBI double to make it 3-2 Grizzlies. The Boomers would then threaten the lead, putting the tying run in scoring position in the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings against the Gateway bullpen, but the combination of Andrew Cartier and Carson Cupo held the line.Â
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After Cupo induced a big, inning-ending double play to get out of trouble in the seventh, the Grizzlies added on in the eighth, loading the bases with no one out before Jose Rosario reached on an infield single to drive in a run and make it 4-2, and Freeman hitting a sacrifice fly for a 5-2 advantage. The Grizzlies added a run in the ninth for the final 6-2 margin.Â
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Gateway amassed 13 hits as a team in the game, out-hitting the Boomers 13-6, with Penner, Almadova, Achenbach, Rosario, and Abdiel Diaz all notching two hits on the night.Â
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The Grizzlies will look to make it back-to-back wins at Wintrust Field in the middle game of the series on Wednesday, June 8, at 6:30 p.m. Newly-signed pitcher Carson LaRue will start for Gateway against Schaumburg’s Ryan Middendorf.
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.
