The Result
Rock Cats - 6 to 2

Sea Dogs - Year-to-Date
28 wins - 33 losses

Brett's Position and the Batting Order
Playing leftfield
Batting #3

At the end of the Game
1 hit from 3 at-bats - single, 1 x walk

Brett's at-bats
First at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Runner at third base - one down
Ball - high
Ball - high and away
Ball - high
"......and Roneberg should be taking here --- no he's not, he's swinging away!!! --- and it's a mile-high pop-up in the infield on a 3-0 pitch and the Rock Cats' first-baseman is camped underneath it and makes the catch. Roneberg probably swung at ball-four there as that pitch appeared to be high"
Out F3
Second at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Bases empty - two down
Called strike
Called strike - on the outside corner
Ball - curve ball - outside
Ball - high and away
Ball - change-up - low
Foul ball - off to the left
Foul ball
Foul ball - "a little chopper down the first base line"
Foul ball - "and this will be at least a ten-pitch at-bat"
Ball - curve ball - low
Walk
Left stranded at the end of the innings
Third at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Led off the innings
Ball - high
Ball - low
Called strike - at the knees
Ball - high
Called strike
Foul ball - down the third base line
"And that is hit hard but straight at the first-baseman"
Out 3-to-1
Fourth at-bat
???handed pitcher
Bases empty - two down
Foul ball - straight back
Swing&miss - "and that pitch was high around his shoulders"
Ball - outside
Foul ball - "a high chopper down the first base line"
Ball - curve ball - in the dirt
"And that is ripped hard into rightfield and Brett has himself a hit"
Single
Left stranded at the end of the innings

Heard during the game
(1) When the commentator was giving out the starting line-ups, he said "Brett Roneberg is in leftfield tonight and he would be arguably the best defensive outfielder for the Sea Dogs"

(2) As Brett was coming in for his first at-bat, the commentator mentioned that "Brett has struggled lately and is 0-for-9 in this series to date (two games) and is just 2-for in his last twenty at-bats"

(3) Brett was coming in for his second at-bat and the commentator said "Brett's average has dropped from the high 290's down to the high 270's"

(4) As Brett was coming in for his third at-bat, the commentator said "Roneberg needs to hit the ball hard - he's done nothing the last few nights except some soft fly balls and pop-ups - even a hard foul ball"
After his at-bat, he then mentioned "that even though it was hit towards the Rock Cats first-baseman, it was at least hit hard"

(5) After his hit in his fourth at-bat, the commentator said "that ball was belted into right and you could almost see Brett sigh with relief as he went down the first base line"

(6) During the latter part of the game, the commentators were discussing "the inconsistancy of the Sea Dogs as a team and their win/loss record" - they spoke about the pitching staff and then the batters and said "that if you were looking for the most consistant batter in the line-up, it would have to be Roneberg up until recently"

Email from Brett
(written before the game on Sunday)
Got a hit yesterday!
Was a bit of a relief I must say!
Bye.

Game Reports
Dogs leave home fans longing for more

Sean McGowan led off the bottom of the ninth inning with a single, and the crowd at Hadlock Field broke into applause.
Maybe a Sea Dogs rally was in the offing.

It was, after all, a beautiful night at the ballpark, with 60-degree temperatures and 6,975 fans packing the stands.
A big comeback would cap the night.

But Mike O'Keefe grounded into a double play and poof, there went the rally as the New Britain Rock Cats beat Portland, 6-2.

Or maybe it was Boof, there went the Sea Dogs, as in Boof Bonser (4-5), who held the Sea Dogs to three hits in six innings.

"Bonser has good stuff and when he commands the strike zone, he does a really good job," Sea Dogs Manager Ron Johnson said.

Josh Stevens (2-5) kept Portland in the game until he allowed a two-run home run by Garrett Jones in the eighth inning.

Stevens had superb control, with only two walks.
In the third and fourth innings, he threw a total of just 17 pitches, 16 for strikes.

But Stevens got little offensive support.

The Sea Dogs got their runs early - a run in the first when Joe Kilburg doubled and scored on a triple by George Lombard, and another in the second on Jeff Bailey's eighth home run, over the Maine Monster in left field.

After Bailey's homer, the Sea Dogs did not get another runner past first base.

Johnson was a lonely man in the third-base coach's box.

"It looked like we were going to get to him early," Johnson said.
"And the conditions, with the wind blowing out, looked very offensive today.
"But Mr. Bonser shut us down."

Bonser, a first-round draft pick in 2000, was a top prospect in the San Francisco Giants' organization before going to the Minnesota Twins last November in the A.J. Pierzynski deal.

Some projections had Bonser headed to Triple-A this year, but he knows better.
"I'm back in Double-A, but I'm in a new organization and they've got to know what I can do," Bonser said.
"I have to prove myself to these guys, just like I did with San Francisco."

And, if you are wondering, Boof is his legal name.
He changed it from John while still a student at Gibbs High School in St. Petersburg, Fla.
"It's just a name growing up that my mom gave me. It stuck and I decided to change it," he said.

On Saturday, Bonser mixed his 90-mph fastball with an effective curveball.
He struck out five and retired 14 of his last 16 batters, yielding two walks.

"Lately, my curveball has been one of my better pitches," Bonser said.
"I had a lot of pitches working for me and when that happens, it usually goes well for me."

Bonser got all the support he needed when the Rock Cats scored four in the first two innings.
James Tomlin had a leadoff single, and after stealing second and third, he scored on a groundout.
New Britain added three in the second, including two when Tomlin sent a two-out drive to deep center that Lombard ran down but failed to catch for a two-base error.

Bailey's homer made it 4-2, and Stevens allowed three harmless hits over the next five innings until he started the eighth with a walk before giving up the home run to Jones.

NOTES
Shortstop Jimmy Alvarez was sent to Portland from Pawtucket, making room for Andy Dominique, who was sent down from Boston.
Bailey joined an elite group with 20 home runs, 35 doubles and 100 RBI in their careers with Portland.
The others are Kevin Millar, Chris Norton, Nate Rolison, Tim Clark, John Roskos, Jaime Jones and Fletcher Bates.

Jones, Bonser Lead Cats

Garrett Jones went 3-for-4 with a two-run homer and Boof Bonser threw six strong innings as the Rock Cats defeated the Sea Dogs 6-2 Saturday in Portland, Maine.

Jeff Bailey homered for Portland.

The Rock Cats took a 1-0 lead in the first inning when James Tomlin singled, stole second and third and scored on a groundout.

New Britain scored three in the second on singles by Jones, Matt Scanlon and B.J. Garbe, and aided by a Portland error.

Jones homered in the eighth.

Bonser (4-5) struck out five, walked two and gave up two runs.

Eastern League Game Summary - New Britain at Portland

Garrett Jones collected three hits, including a home run, and Boof Bonser pitched six solid innings to lead the New Britain Rock Cats to a 6-2 victory over the Portland Sea Dogs on Saturday night.

Jones singled, stole a base and scored on a Matt Scanlon single to start a three-run second inning for the Rock Cats.
Scanlon and B.J. Garbe scored on an error by George Lombard in the inning.

Jones added a two-run home run in the top of the eighth inning off of Josh Stevens, his seventh of the season.

Bonser struck out five in six innings of work and picked up the win.
He allowed two runs on three hits and improved to 4-5.

Josh Stevens (2-5) was touched for six runs, four of them earned, on eight hits in seven and 1/3rd innings and suffered the loss.

Portland (28-33) will host New Britain (29-30) in the final game of the series on Sunday at 1:00 PM (ET).

SEA DOGS DROP SECOND IN A ROW
Portland Struggles to 6-2 Loss to New Britain

Boof Bonser allowed only three hits in six innings and Garrett Jones went 3-for-4 with a home run, two runs scored and two RBI as the New Britain Rock Cats beat the Portland Sea Dogs, 6-2 on Saturday night.

Jeff Bailey earned the Allied Big Dog of the Game with his eighth home run of the year, becoming the eighth player in franchise history with at least 20 home runs, 35 doubles and 100 RBI in his Sea Dogs career.

New Britain scored four runs in the first two innings off Josh Stevens (2-5) and never trailed.

A James Tomlin single, two stolen bases and a ground ball scored a run in the first.
After George Lombard tied it with an RBI single in the bottom of the first, the Rock Cats took the lead for good in the second inning.
Matt Scanlon drove in a run with a single and Lombard dropped a two-out fly ball, allowing two more runs to score.

Bailey homered in the second inning, but that would be the last runner past first base for the Sea Dogs.

Jones hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning to finish the scoring.

Bonser (4-5) allowed only three hits and two walks over six innings for his third straight win.