The Gateway Grizzlies recorded their second blowout win in three nights at Ozinga Field, putting up 13 runs as well as a season-high 20 hits en route to a 13-3 victory over the Windy City ThunderBolts, taking the series two games to one in their final road game of 2022.
For the seventh game in a row, Gateway got on the board first, this time on a solo home run by Trevor Achenbach, his 20th of the season, in the top of the second inning. Kevin Krause would then add to the lead in the third inning with an RBI single, and a wild pitch later in the frame made the score 3-0. After they were held off the board by ‘Bolts starter Bryan Ketchie (3-6) in the fourth, the Grizzlies would explode in the fifth to take control of the game, scoring four times for a 7-0 lead with Isaac Benard hitting a two-run homer, Zach Racusin smacking an RBI triple, and Jay Prather capping the frame with an RBI single.
The Grizzlies were far from done offensively- the scored two more runs in the sixth on a bases-loaded single by Prather for a 9-0 advantage, and after Windy City got three runs of their own in the bottom half, Gateway plated another pair of runs in the seventh on a two-run home run by Andrew Penner, making the score 11-3. In the ninth, Ian Bibiloni also hit a home run off the bench, and Prather would bring in Racusin after his second triple of the night with another RBI single, completing the scoring.
A whopping six players had three-hit games for the Grizzlies, with Prather driving in four to lead three players with multiple RBIs. Four different batters also finished with multiple runs scored as the Grizzlies put up 20 or more hits in a game for the first time since June of 2018, including four home runs and seven total extra-base hits in the rout.
On the mound, Lukas Veinbergs finished off his strong rookie season with a “quality start,” tossing seven innings with six strikeouts to earn his sixth win of the season.
Gateway will return home for their final series of the season, taking on the Lake Erie Crushers in a three-game weekend set beginning tomorrow, September 2, at 6:45 p.m. Brendan Feldmann will start the game for the Grizzlies against the Crushers’ Kevin Holcomb 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.
