The Gateway Grizzlies finally resumed action after back-to-back rainouts, and resumed their impressive offensive season by putting up 15 runs, seven of which were driven in by Peter Zimmermann, in a 15-6 win over the Trois-Rivieres Aigles on Saturday night at Grizzlies Ballpark.
It was the Aigles who struck first right away against Collin Sullivan (6-2) when L.P. Pelletier hit the right-hander’s first pitch of the game over the center field fence for a solo home run to make it 1-0 Trois-Rivieres. But after a bunt single leading off the bottom of the first by Gabe Holt, one of his career-high five hits on the day, Jairus Richards responded with a two-run home run off Jacob Kush (1-1) that put the Grizzlies ahead to stay at 2-1. Clint Freeman’s two-out RBI single that same inning made the score 3-1.
After Trois-Rivieres got a run back on yet another first-pitch solo home run in the second inning by Brendon Dadson, Gateway took the reins of the contest with one of their patented big innings, batting around and using five walks and one hit batter to score eight runs on only three hits in the bottom of the third, with Zimmermann’s grand slam punctuating the frame after RBIs by Richards, Eric Rivera, and D.J. Stewart.
With the score 11-2, Trois-Rivieres got three runs back on a bases-clearing double by Juan Kelly in the fourth, but the Grizzlies answered in the fifth with three runs of their own on a two-run homer by Zimmermann, his second of the game, along with an RBI single by Rivera, building their lead out to 14-5.
Both teams would add runs in the eighth for the final margin, with Zimmermann reaching on an RBI infield single for his seventh and final run batted in on the day. His 3-for-5 effort overall was one of four three-plus hit performances by the top four hitters in the Grizzlies’ batting order, as Holt finished 5-for-6 at the top of the lineup, while Richards and Andrew Penner each went 3-for-5 as well as Gateway amassed 18 hits as an offense.
The Grizzlies and Aigles will decide the series on Sunday, July 2, in a doubleheader at Grizzlies Ballpark beginning at 3:00 p.m. CT. Carson LaRue will oppose the Aigles’ Osman Gutierrez on the mound in game one, with Zac Ryan squaring off against Trois-Rivieres’ Ray Weber in the second contest.
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.
