The Gateway Grizzlies fell behind 6-0 early on Saturday against the Joliet Slammers, then 9-3 after getting on the board themselves, and despite scoring three runs in the eighth and bringing the tying run to the plate in the eighth and ninth, they lost the middle game of the weekend series 9-6 at Grizzlies Ballpark.Â
The Slammers got on the board with a two-out, two-run double by Liam McArthur in the top of the second inning against Parker Johnson (0-3), and scored four times in the third inning to knock the rookie right-hander out of the game in the third on home runs by G.J. Hill and Broc Mortensen.Â
Down 6-0, the Grizzlies rallied with three singles and four stolen bases in the bottom of the third, with Jairus Richards driving in two with one of the hits before stealing second and third base, coming in on a throwing error by Slammers catcher Phil Steering on the latter to make it 6-3.Â
Joliet was able to expand the lead in the fifth, however, loading the bases for a Christian Fedko walk to make it 7-3. Steering then reached on a two-out error by D.J. Stewart to bring in two more runs and give the visitors a 9-6 advantage.Â
The Grizzlies would not rally until the bottom of the eighth, when Kyle Gaedele smacked his fourth home run of the home stand to left field off Brad VanAsdlen to make it 9-4. Stewart then reached on an error by McArthur in left field, and Mark Vierling followed with an infield single, with the second Joliet error of the inning on Fedko’s wide throw to first base bringing Stewart in and sending Vierling to second base. Richards then doubled off the center field wall to cut the deficit to 9-6, and the Grizzlies got a walk from Eric Rivera to bring the tying run to the plate.Â
But Jared Liebelt got out of the jam by getting a flyout to end the inning, and in the ninth, would secure the win after Gateway got back-to-back singles to bring the tying run to the plate once more by striking out Stewart and getting a lineout to second base off the bat of Alex Hernandez, ending the game.Â
The Grizzlies will look to bounce back in the finale of their home stand on Sunday, August 13, at 5:45 p.m. CT. Collin Sullivan is scheduled to start for Gateway against Joliet’s Ricky Castro at Grizzlies Ballpark in the rubber game of the three-game series.
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.
