The Result
Sea Dogs - 8 to 6

Sea Dogs - Year-to-Date
1 wins - 4 losses

Brett's Position and the Batting Order
Playing rightfield
Batting #5

At the end of the Game
2 hits from 4 at-bats - single, home run, 2 x RBI's, 1 x run scored, 1 x stolen base, 1 x sacrifice bunt

Brett's at-bats
First at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Led off the innings
Ball - down and away
Ball - change-up - high
Ball - low
Called strike - on the outside corner
"Topper" back to the mound - misplayed by the pitcher - in the commentator's words "it was an easy play but it came out of his glove and then he booted it away - ruled an error and that is the right call"
Safe at first base - error
Stole to second base - "just got in under the tag"
Left stranded at the end of the innings
Second at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
THE BASES ARE LOADED - AND TWO DOWN!!!
Called strike - curve ball
Swing&miss
Ball - down and in
Ball - down and away
Foul ball
"Crushed that pitch to rightfield" - but the fielder back-pedalled and made the catch on the edge of the warning track
Out F9
Third at-bat
Righthanded pitcher - "submariner"
Led off the innings
Foul ball - straight back
Ball
Called strike
Line drive base hit into leftfield
Single
Out at second base on a fielder's choice hit by the next batter
Fourth at-bat
Righthanded pitcher - "submariner"
Runner at second base - two down
Ball - outside
Strike (did not hear)
Swing&miss
Ball - inside
"Belted that pitch over the fifteen foot high fence in rightfield!!!"
HOME RUN
and 2 x RBI's
"A towering shot over the rightfield wall" (click here for all the home run details)
Fifth at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Runners at first and second base - none down
The score was tied at 6 in the top of the ninth innings
Squared to bunt but hit away - foul ball down the rightfield line
Bunt - down the third base line - the pitcher fielded and threw to third base - but too late - everybody was safe!!!
Scored as a "sacrifice bunt - fielder's choice" - not a hit to Brett
To third base on a hit
Left stranded at the end of the innings

Heard during the game
(1) The radio broadcast was "crackling and missing" so I did not hear it clearly, but apparently a Rock Cats batter drove a ball over Brett's head in rightfield - Brett picked the ball up "and threw wildly to the cut-off man and missed him by about twenty feet" - the runner was going and ended up with a triple which "he may have got anyway"

(2) Game was played in the rain!!! - the commentator mentioned that "it was raining at the start of the game, got harder in the seventh, and it is really coming down here in the ninth"

Email from Brett
Not too much to say - except that yesterday it rained for the entire game!!
Not bad and will "hope" for me.
Keep listening for "good things"!!
Bye.

Game Reports
Dogs lap up first win

Back and forth they went, trading punches in the pouring rain like a postseason berth was at stake.
The Portland Sea Dogs, losers of four straight in Altoona, Pa., to open the season, wanted desperately stop their skid.
The New Britain Rock Cats weren't anxious to drop their fourth home game in five starts.

The ball was slick, the infield was sludge and the uniforms were getting clammy, yet the teams played on as the temperature dipped below 40 degrees.

Twice in the last three innings, the Sea Dogs took the lead only to have the Rock Cats fight back to tie.

A sacrifice fly by John Hattig was the stroke that mercifully brought down the curtain Monday night as the Sea Dogs made two ninth-inning runs stand in an 8-6 win at New Britain Stadium.

Portland Manager Ron Johnson was soaked to the skin but will take that first one any way he could get it.
"We won," Johnson said.
"It's always worth it when you win. You like to get that first one out of the way. We'd like to win a couple before we go home."

Mike O'Keefe started the ninth for Portland (1-4) with a liner back to the mound that squirted out of the glove of reliever Jannio Gutierrez (0-1). When Gutierrez finally located the slippery ball, he fell on the seat of his pants.
Jeff Bailey drew a walk.
Gutierrez tried to get the force at third on Brett Roneberg's bunt but all hands were safe.
Hattig launched the game-winning sacrifice fly and Eric Johnson provided insurance with a double.

Sea Dogs reliever Joe Nelson (1-0) was less than effective, allowing a run and two hits in 1 2/3 innings, but a win is a win.

With Charlie Weatherby on in the ninth, the Rock Cats (1-4) bunched a pair of two-out singles but cleanup hitter Billy Munoz looked at the third strike exactly 3 hours and 33 minutes after the first pitch.

"They swung the bats and so did we. It was just a matter of who scored last," Rock Cats Manager Stan Cliburn said.
"We get our big bopper up there and I would have liked to see him pop one, but they tied him up inside.
Almost every strikeout he's made have come on inside pitches that he's taken."

Jesus Medrano and Raul Nieves had three hits each out of the first and second slots for Portland.

Roneberg slammed a two-run homer in Portland's four-run seventh inning.

Bailey, 0 for 5 with runners in scoring position, lashed a two-run double off Pat Neshek.
"It was a slider out over the plate," Cliburn said.
"He made him look bad on the pitch before and he came back with the same pitch but it was flat."

Jason Kubel paced New Britain's 11-hit attack with four hits and three RBI.
Kubel is now hitting .545 (12 for 22) on the season.

Portland blew leads of 5-2 in the seventh and 6-5 in the eighth before putting it away.

"We have a lot of inexperienced guys," Johnson said.
"When your bullpen's not solidified, you're going to struggle no matter how your starters are. The teams that win are the ones who can bring in guys to stop the momentum.
"I don't know how you evaluate somebody out there tonight. It's just survival. Fortunately they didn't put the ball on the ground too much in the last inning or we'd probably still be out there."

Cats Fall In 9th

The night was ugly.
When it was over, the Portland Sea Dogs had defeated the Rock Cats 8-6 with a two-run ninth before a hardy few in a cold, hard rain Monday at New Britain Stadium.

The Sea Dogs (1-4) scored their final two runs on a John Hattig sacrifice fly to center and an Eric Johnson double.

Jason Kubel led the Rock Cats (1-4) with a triple, three singles and three RBI.

The game lasted 3 hours, 33 minutes.
The temperature was in the upper 30s.

"Our guys really battled," Rock Cats manager Stan Cliburn said.
"For miserable conditions, it was a pretty cleanly played game. You usually don't see that much hitting in these type of conditions."

Joe Nelson, who entered in the seventh, was the winning pitcher.

Charles Weatherby, worked the ninth for his first save.

Jannio Gutierrez pitched the ninth for the Rock Cats and took the loss.

The Rock Cats scored in the first when Kubel drove in Seth Davidson with a one-out single.
Davidson had led off with a double down the line in right.

Later, Kubel robbed John Hattig of an extra-base hit with a diving catch on a sinking line drive in left.

The Sea Dogs tied it on a Raul Nieves single off reliever Jon Pridie in the fifth.

Eastern League Game Summary - Portland at New Britain
Final Score - Portland 8 - New Britain 6

John Hattig's sacrifice fly snapped a ninth-inning tie to lift the Portland SeaDogs to their first victory of the season, an 8-6 verdict over the New Britain Rock Cats.

Joe Nelson got the win in relief, allowing one earned run and two hits in 1 2/3rd innings of work.

Charlie Weatherby finished up the game and recorded his first save of the season.

Jannio Gutierrez, the fifth Rock Cats hurler, suffered his first loss of the season.

Matt O'Keefe started the winning rally with a single and advanced to second on a walk to Jeff Bailey.
Two batters later, Hattig lifted a fly deep enough to score O'Keefe with the go-ahead run.
Eric Johnson finished the job with a run-scoring double.

The SeaDogs bunched seven of their eight runs in the final three frames.

Brett Roneberg went 2-for-4 with a homer and two RBI to raise his average to .368 after the first five games, while Jesus Medrano and Raul Nieves had three hits each for Portland.

Jason Kubel had four hits and drove in three runs for New Britain to raise his average to a lofty .545.

The Rock Cats suffered their fourth loss in five decisions this season.

The Seadogs, which opened the season with four straight losses at Altoona, will try to extend their winning streak to two games Tuesday when they send Charlie Zink to the hill against New Britain's J.D. Durbin.

Sea Dogs win against Rock Cats

John Hattig drove in the winning run with a sacrifice fly in the top of the ninth inning Monday night to give the Portland Sea Dogs an 8-6 win over the New Britain Rock Cats in a rain-soaked Eastern League game.

The Sea Dogs (1-4) loaded the bases against New Britain´s fifth pitcher of the night, Jannio Gutierrez (0-1), when Hattig´s fly to center produced a one-run lead.

A double by Eric Johnson gave Portland an insurance run.

Jesus Medrano and Raul Nieves, the first and second batters for Portland, had three hits each.

Brett Roneberg hit a two-run homer to give Portland a 5-2 lead in the seventh inning.

Joe Nelson (1-0) earned the win despite yielding a run in 1 2/3 innings.

Charlie Weatherby earned the save.

Jason Kubel had four hits and drove in three runs for the Rock Cats (1-4).
Seth Davidson had a double and triple and scored two runs.