The Southern Illinois Miners scored all five of their runs on two home runs in the first inning and Jarett Miller was outstanding, pitching six and one-thirds innings of one-run ball with a season-high 10 strikeouts as the Miners led wire to wire for a 5-3 win over the Rockford Aviators at Aviators Stadium on Friday night.
The Miners got the bats going early and often against Rockford rookie starter David Diaz (1-3), as Craig Massey led off with a double. After a ground ball moved him to third base, Michael Earley teed off, crushing a two-run homer to center field to give the Miners a 2-0 advantage. Immediately following that home run, Frank Martinez walked on four pitches and two batters later, Jerrud Sabourin worked a two-out walk. That set up Steve Marino, who cranked an 0-2 pitch over the left field fence to give the Miners a 5-0 lead. It was also Marino’s 300th career hit.
Miller (5-3) took over from there. He set the tone early by striking out five in just the first two innings, eventually tossing six and one-third innings and setting a new season-high with 10 strikeouts with only three hits and three walks allowed. The Aviators were able to score three runs in the seventh, including a two-run homer by Anthony Renteria, to cut the lead down to 5-3, but that would be the closest the Aviators would get as Evan Mott and Eric Green pitched scoreless frames in the eighth and ninth, with Green notching his tenth save.
Massey ended up with three hits including two doubles to pace the Miners 11-hit offensive attack, while Earley and Sabourin had two hits apiece. All but two of the Miners’ starting lineup had at least one hit as Southern Illinois took the series opener. Their win, along with an Evansville loss at River City, elevated the Miners back into first place in the overall league standings.
The Miners will look to take the series in game two on Saturday night at 7:05 p.m., with Ryan Brockett going up against Rockford right-hander Kyle Brueggemann.
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.
