The Gateway Grizzlies announce that the “Braggin’ Rights” rivalry baseball game between Missouri and Illinois will return to GCS Credit Union Ballpark on March 28th at 6:30 p.m. This year, Illinois will be the home team and occupy the first base dugout, while Missouri will be on the third base side.
Last season marked the return of the rivalry in Sauget after the teams had not played each other since 2017, with Missouri defeating Illinois 11-7 in a contest that featured four home runs and a whopping eight multi-run half-innings in total. With the victory, the Tigers took a 15-14-1 lead in the all-time series.
Mizzou seeks their first NCAA Tournament appearance under head coach Steve Bieser, and will feature St. Louis-area natives Brock Daniels (St. John Vianney), Luke Mann (St. John Vianney), Derek Williams (Windsor), Ian Lohse (Marquette), Kyle Potthoff (Marquette), and Daniel Wissler (Fort Zumwalt West) on their roster.
The Illini are coming off a 31-win season that saw them tie for second place in the Big 10 in 2022 with a 17-7 conference record under longtime head coach Dan Hartleb, who has guided the program to four NCAA tournament appearances, most-recently in 2019. They will also welcome Louisville transfer and Edwardsville, Illinois native Drake Westcott onto their roster this season.
To purchase tickets, go to gatewaygrizzlies.com or call the Grizzlies box office at (618) 337-3000.
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.
