The Southern Illinois Miners trailed in their contest on Tuesday at Rent One Park against the Frontier Greys the whole game until the seventh, when they scored two to tie it up before catcher Toby DeMello completed the comeback with a walk-off solo home run in the ninth to win the game 4-3. It is the fourth walk-off win by the team this year and first walk-off home run for the Miners since early August of last season.
The Greys took the early lead against Rick Teasley with a two-run homer off the bat of Dillon Haupt in the second, but the Miners rallied to get one run back, as Frank Martinez (who was hit by a pitch) scored all the way from first on an RBI double by Steve Marino to make it 2-1.
Zach Tanner would hit a solo home run to lead off the fourth, however, making the score 3-1, and the Miners trailed through the middle frames against the Greys’ starter Justin D’Alessandro. After D’Alessandro left the game, however, the Miners took full advantage of shaky defense by the Greys infield. With Nick McBride on the hill and one out in the bottom of the seventh, Adrian English reached on a error by the shortstop and went to third on a double by DeMello (his second of the game). After a groundout for the second out of the inning, with Aaron Gates at the dish a passed ball by the catcher allowed the runners to move up, with English scoring on the play to make it 3-2.
Gates then walked and on a throw to first, McBride threw high as DeMello scored the tying run. Brandon Cowan and Pete Perez (3-2) held the fort in the eighth and ninth before DeMello came up against reliever Steven Wehr (0-1) and crushed the first pitch he saw for his first home run at home this season as well as his third hit of the game to win it for Southern Illinois.
DeMello went 3-for-4 in the game with two doubles and his home run, while Marino also doubled as part of a 2-for-4 game. The duo had all the hits the Miners amassed in the game, with the Greys out-hitting the Miners 6-5 in the game. But it was the home team pulling out the victory in the series opener on a hot evening in Marion.
The Miners will try and win the series on Wednesday night at 7:05 p.m. in game two, starting Jon Klein against Greys right-hander Jordan Kraus.
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.
