The Gateway Grizzlies lost a 2-0 early lead on Friday night against the Joliet Slammers, and trailed 3-2 at the seventh-inning stretch, but scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh and four more in the bottom of the eighth to pull away in an 8-3 victory at Grizzlies Ballpark, lowering their “magic number” to clinch a spot in the playoffs to nine and breaking the visitors’ six-game win streak.
Gateway was able to grab the early lead against Ryan O’Reilly (1-4) on a two-run home run to right field by Jairus Richards in the bottom of the third inning. Joliet would respond on Matthew Warkentin’s solo shot to right field to get within 2-1, though Lukas Veinbergs would hold the advantage on the scoreboard for the next couple of frames.
In the sixth, Christian Fedko tied it with another solo home run at 2-2, and Matt McGarry would follow in the top of the seventh with a leadoff solo shot to give the Slammers their first lead at 3-2. In the bottom half, Gateway would mount a comeback. Cole Barr led off the frame with a double, and Andrew Penner then scored Barr on a ground ball to first baseman Zach Biermann, who threw wide to O’Reilly covering first base for a two-base error that tied the game at 3-3. Two batters later, D.J. Stewart put the Grizzlies up 4-3 with an RBI single.
The Slammers nearly responded in the top of the eighth, getting the tying run to third and lead run to second with no outs, but Alec Whaley struck out G.J. Hill and Lane Baremore, then got Tyler Depreta-Johnson to ground out to Barr at third base to keep the slim lead. The Grizzlies’ offense then plated four insurance runs in the bottom half to forge the final margin, with Barr collecting a two-run single and Stewart adding a two-run double off Chadler Brierley.
Having lowered their magic number to single digits for their first playoff appearance since 2012, the Grizzlies will look to clinch another series against Joliet in the middle game of the series on Saturday, August 12, at 6:45 p.m. CT. It will be Star Wars Night at Grizzlies Ballpark, with Parker Johnson starting on the mound against Joliet’s Turner Larkins.
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.
