Home Baseball Vasquez’s Blast Gives Miners Rain-Shortened Series Win

Vasquez’s Blast Gives Miners Rain-Shortened Series Win

by Jason Guerette
The Southern Illinois Miners led 3-2 in the seventh when heavy rains came to Consol Energy Park in Washington, cancelling the rest of the game and giving the Miners an official six-inning win over the Washington Wild Things on Thursday night, marking their first series win there since 2012.

The Miners got five and one-third innings from Adam Lopez (4-0), who struck out eight batters and allowed only two runs on seven hits with three walks in getting the win. He got all the support he needed in the top of the third, when Niko Vasquez blasted a three-run homer deep over the left field fence to give the Miners a 3-0 lead.

Lopez would make that stand up by working around a few baserunners in the latter stages of the contest, most notably in the fifth inning. Down 3-1, Washington loaded the bases with one out before Sam Mende lifted a sacrifice fly to left to make it 3-2 with two outs. After a walk re-loaded the bases, however, Lopez struck out Scott Kalamar to end the threat and keep the Miners in front.

In addition to Vasquez’s homer, Michael Earley had two hits in the contest as the Miners took the road series two games to one to improve to 9-3 on the road and 19-11 overall. They will head to Florence next to complete their six-game road trip with a weekend series against the Freedom beginning on Friday night at 6:05 p.m. CT. Rick Teasley will get the ball in the opener against Florence’s Chuck Weaver.

The Southern Illinois Miners are the 2014 Frontier League East Division Champions and the 2012 Frontier League Champions. They have been awarded the Frontier League Organization of the Year award three times since their inception, and also set a new Frontier League attendance record in 2007, their inaugural season. For ticket information, contact the Rent One Park box office at 618-998-8499. For any additional information, visit our website at www.southernillinoisminers.com.
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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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