Florence, KY – The Gateway Grizzlies again enjoyed a stellar day at the plate offensively, using a late big inning to reach 21 hits as a club as well as double-digit runs for the second game in a row in beating the Florence Y’alls 11-2 to clinch the series at Thomas More Stadium and improve to 2-0 on the young season.
Gabe Holt got things started with a leadoff hit in the first inning just like he did last night to kick off what would become another banner day at the plate. Later in the inning, Clint Freeman’s RBI single of former MLB southpaw Mike Kickham made it 1-0 Grizzlies, and D.J. Stewart followed with an RBI double of his own to make it 2-0. Just like in the first game, the Y’alls rallied back to erase their deficit right away in the first inning, tying the game at 2-2 against Grizzlies starter Josh Lucas (1-0).
But Lucas settled in from there to last five innings, allowing only three hits and striking out six batters. Gateway would give him the win when they took the lead for good on a solo home run by Abdiel Diaz in the fourth inning, making the score 3-2. With Collin Sullivan tossing up scoreless innings out of the bullpen, Gateway’s offense then went to work late in the contest again.
In the sixth, Freeman and Stewart took Rodney Hutchison (0-1) deep on back-to-back pitches to make the score 5-2. An Eric Rivera sacrifice fly in the seventh made the score 6-2, and then in the ninth, the Grizzlies erupted against Brandon Mason with seven consecutive hits, scoring five times in the frame and running away with the win. Rivera, Freeman, and Stewart had RBIs in the frame, with Stewart blasting his second homer of the game to punctuate the big inning.
It was Holt again leading the charge from the leadoff spot, going 5-for-5 and setting a new career-best in hits for a single game. Freeman and Stewart had three hits apiece and combined for seven RBIs in the game, with Diaz also setting a new career-high with four hits in the contest. On the mound, Sullivan and Trevor Tietz also combined to hold Florence off the board in the final four innings of the game.
Gateway will look to sweep the season-opening set in Florence on Saturday, May 13th, with Carson LaRue starting on the mound against the Y’alls Jake McMahill at 5:36 p.m. CT at Thomas More Stadium.
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.
