Home BaseballGateway Grizzlies Grizzlies Stay Hot, Win Sixth Straight Game

Grizzlies Stay Hot, Win Sixth Straight Game

Gateway takes series opener from Lake Erie behind persistent offense, dominant pitching

by Jason Guerette

The Gateway Grizzlies got six innings and 10 strikeouts from starter Carson LaRue on Tuesday night, and added insurance runs in the middle and late parts of the game in besting the Lake Erie Crushers 7-1 at Mercy Health Stadium in Avon, Ohio, winning their sixth game in a row and taking the opener of their road trip. 

The scoring began in the top of the second inning when former Crusher D.J. Stewart came up against his ex-club for the first time since being traded to the Grizzlies in the offseason, and smacked an RBI single to put Gateway ahead 1-0. In the fourth, the Grizzlies expanded the lead with two outs, scoring three times off Kyle Seebach (0-2) on a double by Willie Estrada and a double-steal later in the inning, taking a 4-0 lead. 

That’s all LaRue (2-0) would need in his best start of the season, as the right-hander struck out 10 to tie his career high while walking none and surrendering just six hits, three of which came along with his lone run allowed in the sixth inning, his final frame of the night. In the process, he dealt an “Immaculate Inning,” securing the extremely rare baseball feat when he struck out all three batters he faced in the bottom of the fourth on three pitches each, with all of the offerings being strikes. 

In the eighth, Gateway added three insurance runs to their ledger on another two-run double by Estrada as well as a passed ball, and cruised from there to the victory to improve to 12-4 on the season. Estrada was the biggest bat in the lineup offensively, leading an 11-hit attack by tying his career-highs in both hits (three) and RBIs (four). The game also marked the sixth consecutive contest that the Grizzlies’ offense recorded 10 or more hits as a club. 

Gateway will look to extend their win streak to seven games when they face the Crushers in the middle game of the series on Wednesday, May 31, at 12:05 p.m. CT. Collin Sullivan will take the ball for the Grizzlies against Lake Erie right-hander Angelo Baez at Mercy Health Stadium.

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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.

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