Florence, KY – The Gateway Grizzlies went back and forth against the Florence Y’alls for four innings on Opening Night, but took control of the game in the middle innings, and piled on more runs late for a 13-7 season-opening win at Thomas More Stadium.
It was Gateway striking first right away when Gabe Holt hit the first pitch of the season from Florence’s Edgar Martinez into right field for a single. Eric Rivera then doubled Holt to third base, and later, with two outs, Andrew Penner reached base on an infield RBI single that made it 1-0 Grizzlies. Florence, however, responded with two runs of their own in the bottom of the first inning to take the lead, then expanded it to 4-1 in the second inning on Ray Zuberer’s two-run, two out homer off Lukas Veinbergs.
It remained 4-1 until the Grizzlies put together a huge rally with two outs in the top of the fourth. With two runners on, Abdiel Diaz came up clutch with a two-run double to left-center field, making it 4-3, and then scored the tying run when Holt doubled down the left field line to make the score 4-4. Later in the inning, a wild pitch allowed Gateway to take a 5-4 lead.
Again, the Y’alls responded by scoring two runs in the bottom of the fourth, taking a 6-5 lead on Cole Brannen’s RBI single that chased Veinbergs from the game. But that would be the last hit the Y’alls could muster in the game, as the Gateway bullpen of Nate Garkow (1-0), Alec Whaley, Colton Easterwood, Zac Ryan, and Trevor Tietz combined to retire 16 of the final 18 batters they faced, including the final 11 of the contest.
Meanwhile, Gateway’s offense just kept on coming. In the fifth, Alex Hernandez ripped a two-run, go-ahead double inside the third base bag to make it 7-6 and give the Grizzlies the lead for good. After both teams scored a run in the sixth to make the score 8-7, Holt singled after an 11-pitch at-bat with two outs and no one on base, followed by a Rivera single and a three-run home run by Clint Freeman that put the game out of reach at 11-7.
Holt then capped a four-hit, two-out rally in the eighth with his fourth hit of the contest, a two-run single that accounted for the final margin of 13-7. Every player in the lineup for the Grizzlies had at least one hit, led by Holt’s 4-for-6 Grizzlies debut that included a double, three runs scored, and three RBIs out of the leadoff spot. Rivera, Penner, Hernandez, Diaz, and Peter Zimmermann also had multi-hit nights for Gateway, who won on Opening Night for the second season in a row in their first road season opener since 2013.
The Grizzlies will look to claim the first series of the season on Friday, May 12, when they send Josh Lucas to the mound against Florence’s Mike Kickham in what is believed to be the first-ever matchup of former major league starting pitchers in Frontier League history. First pitch is scheduled for 7:03 p.m. ET
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.
