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Miners Even Series Behind Ace

by Jason Guerette

The Southern Illinois Miners got another strong start from reigning Pitcher of the Year Matt Bywater and just enough offense to topple the Washington Wild Things 2-1 at Consol Energy Park on the road on Wednesday morning.

The Miners took the lead in the second against Washington starter Luke Wilkins (2-2) thanks to Steve Marino’s solo blast high over the left field fence. His first home run of the season gave the Miners a 1-0 advantage, and Bywater (6-0) made that stand up. He struck out nine batters on the game, all of which in the first five frames he pitched to keep the Washington offense at bay.

The Wild Things would tie the game with a two-out RBI single from Daniel Poma after a leadoff walk was issued by Bywater earlier in the inning. But the Miners would strike back in the top of the seventh. After Aaron Gates and Michael Earley led off with walks of their own to chase Wilkins, Jerrud Sabourin laid down a bunt with two strikes and was able to reach base for a single. With the bases loaded, Frank Martinez then drove in what proved to be the winning run with a sacrifice fly to right field, giving Southern Illinois a 2-1 lead.

Pete Perez and Eric Green tossed scoreless innings in the seventh and eighth before Will Rankin got his tenth save of the season with a scoreless ninth, working around an error to get a game-ending double play as the Miners snapped a five-game losing streak in Washington.

Sabourin went 3-for-5 in the contest, while Marino went 2-for-4 as Southern Illinois evened up the series at 1-1, setting up a rubber match on Thursday night. First pitch will take place at 6:05 CT, with Adam Lopez on the mound for the Miners against a starter to be determined for Washington.

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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.

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