The Gateway Grizzlies had the Florence Y’alls down to their final strike in the top of the ninth inning of a back-and-forth contest on Tuesday night when Anthony Brocato hit a go-ahead, three-run home run in a stunning 7-6 defeat, their fourth straight overall, at GCS Credit Union Ballpark.
The Grizzlies got the initial lead in the game thanks to an RBI single by former Y’all Jackson Pritchard in the bottom of the second at 1-0, but Florence responded by scoring two runs in the top of the third to take their first lead. Trevor Achenbach then homered in the bottom of the frame to tie the score at 2-2.
It stayed that way until the fifth inning, when another former Florence player, Isaac Benard, clubbed a home run to right field that made the score 3-2. But the Grizzlies could not hold that lead, as with two outs in the next inning, Ian Bibiloni singled in the tying run and made it 3-3 after six innings.
Florence then took the lead at 4-3 on Casey Combs’ solo shot off John Murphy in the top of the eighth. In the bottom half, it was Gateway’s turn to rally. Clint Freeman led off with a double, and Jay Prather doubled him home to make it 4-4 with his career-high fourth hit of the game. He advanced to third base on a throwing error on the same play, and would score on a passed ball with Abdiel Diaz at the plate to put the Grizzlies in front 5-4. Another error later in the same inning would bring in the go-ahead run and put Gateway ahead 6-4.
But in the ninth, an error and a walk opened the door for Florence. After Brennan Price moved the runners to second and third base on a groundout, Reed Hayes (1-2) got ahead of Brocato 0-2, and surrendered the titanic home run to vault Florence in front at 7-6. Peter Zimmermann would get on base and end up all the way at third base with one out in the bottom half, but the Grizzlies could not score the tying run in dropping the absolute heartbreaker to open up their nine-game home stand.
The middle game of the three-game series will take place on Wednesday, June 15, at 10:45 a.m., with Sam Gardner taking the ball on the mound for the Grizzlies as they look to even the series.
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.
