The Gateway Grizzlies kicked off their first home series of 2023 with a 4-1 win over the Schaumburg Boomers at Grizzlies Ballpark on Tuesday night.
Both the Grizzlies’ Joey Gonzalez and Boomers’ Aaron Glickstein started strong, with both starting pitchers tossing more than five innings in the low-scoring contest.
The Grizzlies kicked off the offense with two outs in the second inning, with Andrew Penner scoring on an error by the Boomers’ Chase Dawson for a 1-0 lead. It would remain 1-0 until the sixth inning, when Boomers right fielder Drue Galassi tied things up with a towering solo home run to right field.
But the Grizzlies quickly answered back with a ground-rule RBI double by Peter Zimmermann and a groundout from Abdiel Diaz to score two runs in the bottom half of the frame to take a 3-1 lead. Gateway added an insurance run in the eighth with an RBI single from Diaz to cap the scoring.
On the mound, Joey Gonzalez (1-0) pitched the first “quality start” of the season for Gateway, striking out seven in six innings while allowing only one run to get the win in his Grizzlies debut. The Gateway bullpen then helped keep the Boomers bats silent, with Alec Whaley, Zac Ryan, and closer Sam Gardner combining for three scoreless innings and three strikeouts, punctuated by a strikeout from Gardner to earn the save.
The Grizzlies will look to secure the series win on Wednesday, May 17, with Lukas Veinbergs set to face Kobey Schlotman at 6:45 PM CST at Grizzlies Ballpark in the middle game of the set in Sauget.
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.
