Miners Come Back To Top Rascals

by Jason Guerette May 19, 2015

written by Jason Guerette May 19, 2015

The Southern Illinois Miners used a four-run sixth inning and great offensive days from Aaron Gates, Michael Earley and Wendell Fairley to score a comeback victory against the River City Rascals at Rent One Park in their home opener in 2015.

Southern Ilinois would jump out to an early 1-0 lead in the first as Gates, who reached on a leadoff two-base error on Rascal second baseman Hector Crespo, was driven in by Fairley’s single. River City would come back with two runs of their own in the third inning before Fairley again drove in Gates with a two-out single to right field to knot the game at 2-2.

River City would go ahead with two more runs the very next half inning. Thanks to an error and a passed ball, only one of the runs would be earned against Rick Teasley (1-0), who settled down in the next two frames in the fifth and sixth to hold the Rascals off the board.

As he did, the Miners broke out offensively. Gates doubled to lead off the fifth before a single by Frank Martinez set up Earley’s RBI single to pull the Miners within a run at 4-3. Against the Rascals bullpen in the sixth, the Miners exploded for four runs. Gates smacked a two-run double down the right field line in the frame to give the Miners the lead once more and Earley followed two batters later with a two-run double of his own.

The Southern Illinois bullpen would hold the lead, with Will Rankin nailing down his third save with a scoreless ninth inning to extend his streak to 27 1/3 consecutive frames without giving up a run. Gates reached base four times and had two RBIs while also hitting two doubles and scoring four runs for the Miners, while Earley was never retired by River City, walking twice with a double, single and three RBIs of his own.

Fairley also finished 2-for-4 with his two RBIs as the Miners won the opener at Rent One Park. They will go for the series win on Wednesday night at 7:05 p.m., starting reigning Frontier League Pitcher of the Year Matt Bywater against Dane Stone and the Rascals.

Jason Guerette

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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.

Jason Guerette

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.

Miners Come Back To Top Rascals

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