The Gateway Grizzlies were up 6-1 after five innings against the New Jersey Jackals on Wednesday afternoon, but watched the visitors score three or more runs in each of their last four turns at bat in what became a 16-7 loss at Grizzlies Ballpark, the club’s third in a row.
Starting pitcher Zac Ryan was perfect to begin the game- literally, as he retired the first 12 batters he faced in the contest. The Grizzlies built up their lead while he was dealing, with Eric Rivera leading off the first inning with his third home run of the season in making it 1-0. The Grizzlies then scored four times in the fourth thanks to an RBI single by D.J. Stewart and a three-run home run by Abdiel Diaz off New Jersey starter Dylan Castaneda, making the score 5-0.
After New Jersey got a run back off Ryan in the top of the fifth, the Grizzlies scored it back on an RBI single by Jairus Richards in the bottom half for a 6-1 cushion. But the lead would evaporate over the next two innings- the Jackals hit two home runs to score three times in the sixth to slice their deficit to 6-4, and then scored four runs to take the lead for good in the seventh inning against three different Grizzlies pitchers.
With the score 8-6, Gateway was able to scratch across another run to get within 8-7 on an RBI groundout by Stewart, but yet again could not stop the Jackals from scoring, allowing four runs in both the eighth and ninth innings for the final margin, with New Jersey winning their ninth game in a row overall.
The Grizzlies will look to salvage the series finale against the Jackals on Thursday night, June 15, at 6:45 p.m. CT. Joey Gonzalez will start for Gateway against southpaw Bryan Pena for New Jersey as the Grizzlies conclude their home stand.
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.
