The Gateway Grizzlies used three home runs and capitalized on free passes issued by Florence Y’alls pitchers as they avoided a sweep with a 9-2 victory at GCS Credit Union Ballpark, snapping a five-game losing streak.
The Grizzlies got the scoring started in the bottom of the third inning when Isaac Benard drove in Abdiel Diaz on a sacrifice fly to make it 1-0. Two innings later in the bottom of the fifth, with two men on base, Jose Rosario mashed his third home run of the season to expand the Grizzlies’ lead to 4-0.
Florence was held scoreless until the top of the seventh inning thanks to the pitching of Carson LaRue (1-0), who allowed just three baserunners through his first six inning of work and retired 10 in a row before Brennan Price and Ethan Stern hit back-to-back solo home runs to make it 4-2.
However, Gateway responded in the bottom of the frame with back-to-back solo home runs of their own from Andrew Penner and Benard to make it 6-2, and the Grizzlies ended up batting around in the frame, sending 11 men to the plate while scoring an additional three runs thanks to three walks and two hit batters for the final 9-2 margin.
Penner led the way offensively going 3-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs at the top of the order. Benard also went 1-for-3 with two RBIs along with his third home run in as many games.
The Grizzlies will continue their nine-game homestand into the weekend with the Joliet Slammers coming to town for three games starting on Friday night, June 17 at 6:45 p.m. at GCS Credit Union Ballpark. J.P. Williams will start the series opener on the mound for Gateway against Trevor Charpie for Joliet.
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.
