The Southern Illinois Miners trailed 4-0 after the first three innings against the Frontier Greys before mounting a comeback, tying the game in the bottom of the eighth inning. The Greys, however, plated a run in the ninth and stunned the Miners 5-4, evening the series at Rent One Park.
After a first-inning run and three runs in the fourth (all unearned thanks to two Miners errors off of starter Jon Klein), Southern Illinois found themselves down 4-0 in the contest before they got one big swing to get back into the game in the fifth. After Adrian English led off with a walk, Brian Portelli doubled off the third baseman’s glove to put runners at second and third with one out. Aaron Gates then tripled down the line in right, his league-leading sixth of the season, to plate English and Portelli before a relay throw got into the Greys dugout to bring Gates home and make it 4-3 after five.
It remained 4-3 until the Miners scored thanks to another error in the eighth. Michael Earley reached on a high throw by Greys third baseman Michael Antonio and was doubled to third by Niko Vasquez. Frank Martinez tied the score on a sacrifice fly to left, making it 4-4.
But for the third time in 2015, the Greys rallied in the ninth in Marion. Two singles and a walk loaded the bases before an RBI single by Brandon Tierney gave the Greys the lead. Nick Anderson struck out the side in the bottom of the ninth to seal the win for the visitors.
A bright spot for the Miners was Miguel Ramirez, who struck out eight and walked none in five innings of relief, allowing no runs on only one hit. Southern Illinois will now face a rubber match against the Greys on Thursday night at Rent One Park at 7:05 p.m., with reigning Pitcher of the Year Matt Bywater taking the ball against the Greys’ Bobby Shore.
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.
