The Gateway Grizzlies got a “quality start” on the mound on Wednesday night against the Florence Y’alls from Joey Gonzalez (3-4), but were no-hit for the first five innings and could not get the tying run across despite opportunities to do so in a 7-3 loss at Thomas More Stadium, the team’s third straight defeat.
Brennan Price’s two-run home run in the first inning staked the home team to a 2-0 lead, but that was the only scoring in the game until the seventh inning. Gonzalez locked down for the Grizzlies on the mound, retiring 17 of the final 19 batters he faced for the rest of his start, striking out four, walking one, and only surrendering one more hit in the contest to keep the Grizzlies’ offense within striking distance.
But Gateway could not get the big hit they needed against Edgar Martinez, as despite the Florence starter walking five and hitting two more batters, they were no-hit until the sixth inning. In that frame, D.J. Stewart broke up the no-no with a leadoff single to right field, and a walk and fielder’s choice loaded the bases with no one out, putting the tying run in scoring position. But a strikeout and a double-play ground ball ended the biggest threat to score in the contest.
The Grizzlies would get on the board in the next inning against reliever Michael Kirian, with Jairus Richards and Andrew Penner reaching base on singles to lead off, then stealing third and second base, respectively, before Gabe Holt put Gateway on the board with a sacrifice fly and made the score 2-1. But again, the Grizzlies were unable to tie the score despite having the tying run in scoring position in both the seventh and the eighth, and in the bottom of the eighth, Florence scored five runs on three consecutive two-out hits off Zach Blankenship, taking a 7-1 lead.
Peter Zimmermann cranked a two-run double in the top of the ninth to get the Grizzlies within four, but that was as close as they got as they stranded 12 runners on base in total, dropping their third straight game and the series with the loss. Gateway will look to avoid a sweep at the hands of the Y’alls on Thursday, June 22, at 5:34 p.m. CT, sending Lukas Veinbergs to the mound before they return home to Grizzlies Ballpark for the weekend.
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.
