Sauget, IL – The Gateway Grizzlies got another outstanding start from Collin Sullivan on the mound, and took the lead early on Wednesday night at Grizzlies Ballpark, holding the advantage for a 5-3 win over the Empire State Greys to clinch the three-game midweek series.
Back-to-back solo home runs by Andrew Penner and Jairus Richards staked Sullivan (4-0) and the Grizzlies to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning. Gateway increased the lead to 3-0 when Abdiel Diaz and Willie Estrada executed a double-steal in the fifth inning, with the latter taking home for the game’s third run.
Sullivan, meanwhile, surrendered only three hits in six shutout innings, walking one and striking out seven to improve to 4-0 in four starts this season.
After the Greys got on the board in the top of the seventh on a sacrifice fly by J.R. DiSarcina to make the score 4-1, Gateway also plated two late runs in the bottom of the eighth against Greys reliever Tanner Propst, as Clint Freeman led off with a solo home run to right-center field for a 4-1 lead. Later that same inning, Penner reached on an error and scored with two outs on an RBI single by D.J. Stewart.
In the ninth, the Greys got both runs back, with John Mead’s solo homer making it 5-2, and a wild pitch with two outs scoring Christopher Cespedes from third base after he had reached on a double. But Colton Easterwood finished the game for his second save in as many nights for the Grizzlies, who also got manager Steve Brook his 606th career win as a Frontier League manager, breaking a tie with former Gateway manager Phil Warren and moving Brook into fourth place among skippers in league history.
With a record of 17-5 overall, Gateway will look for the three-game sweep on Thursday, June 8, at 6:45 p.m. CT, sending Zac Ryan to the hill against former Grizzlie Andres Rodriguez, who will start for the Greys.
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.
