The Southern Illinois Miners scored four runs in the third and six more in the fifth inning, exploding offensively to beat the Rockford Aviators 11-5 and take the road series by winning the first two games while also lowering their magic number to just one to clinch a playoff berth.
The Miners jumped on top in the first inning as Craig Massey led off with a walk and stole second base. Niko Vasquez then drove him home with a two-out RBI single for a 1-0 Miners lead. Ryan Brockett (3-2) made it stand up in the first two innings, striking out two and giving up just one hit before the Miners were able to mount their first big rally in the third inning. Massey, Aaron Gates and Michael Earley each singled off of Rockford starter Kyle Brueggemann (6-5) to score a run, with Earley picking up the RBI. Frank Martinez then launched a two-run triple to right-center to make the score 4-0 Southern Illinois.
A Vasquez sac-fly plated Martinez for a 5-0 advantage. Rockford scored on a two-out RBI single in the bottom of the fourth inning to cut the deficit to 5-1, but would get no closer as the Miners put the game away in the fifth inning. Gates led off with a single and Earley hit a double followed by a single by Martinez to make it 6-1 and chase Brueggemann from the contest. Against reliever Paul Lujan, the Miners would break the game open. Vasquez plated two with a two-run single for an 8-1 lead and later in the inning after a wild pitch by Lujan brought home another run and made it 9-1, Massey lined a two-out single that plated two more for an 11-1 lead.
Rockford was able to get three runs back in the bottom of the fifth and one more in the sixth inning but was held off the scoreboard for the final three innings, with Brandon Cowan earning the save by pitching the final four frames. Vasquez finished 2-for-3 while tying his season-high with four RBIs, while Martinez finished a home run away from the cycle 3-for-5 with two runs scored and three more RBIs. Earley went 2-for-4 with a double and two runs scored, while Massey went 3-for-4 with a double, two runs scored and two RBIs in the rout, with the 11 runs scored representing the most runs the Miners had plated since they topped Joliet 15-4 in their final contest before the all-star break.
Southern Illinois lowered their “magic number” to clinch a playoff spot down to one with the victory, with either a win or a Florence loss on Sunday getting the Miners officially into the postseason. They will go for the road sweep at 3:05 p.m. on Sunday afternoon, with Miguel Ramirez on the hill against Rockford’s Payton Baskette.
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.
