The Result
Senators - 3 runs to 1

The Curve - Year-to-Date
19 won and 12 lost

Brett's Position and the Batting Order
Playing - First base
----------and changed to leftfield in the bottom of the seventh innings
Batting - #3

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

Brett's at-bats
First at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Bases empty - two down
Called strike
"That's a ground ball on four hops to the second-baseman who throws to first base to make the final out of the innings"
Ground out - 4 to 3
Second at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Led off the innings
Called strike or foul ball??? - did not hear
Ball - inside
"And there's a base hit through the rightside for Brett"
Single to rightfield
Out at second base on a fielder's choice hit by the next Curve batter
Third at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Bases empty - two down
"A ground ball hit very sharply but straight at the Senators' second-baseman who makes the out"
Ground out - 4 to 3
Fourth at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Bases empty - two down
Called strike - on the outside corner
Called strike - "Brett checked his swing, but the strike called by the umpire"
Ball - fast ball - high
Ball - low and away
Ball - breaking ball - stays way outside
Foul ball - drilled down the third base side
Ball - low and inside
Walk
Advanced to second base on a walk
Scored on a hit

Heard during the game

Email from Brett

Game Reports

The Altoona Curve (19-12) suffered a sluggish start to their three-game road trip, falling to the Harrisburg Senators, 3-1, on Monday at Commerce Bank Park

Altoona had placed only one runner in scoring position until a ninth-inning rally put three consecutive batters on base and scored the only run for the Curve

Harrisburg (17-14) starter Shawn Hill (3-2) was dominant, coming just one out away from a complete game shutout
The former major-leaguer struck out three and has now allowed just three earned runs in five starts at home this season

The final-inning flurry was the only time the Curve would threaten in the ballgame, and marked the only time that Altoona would send more than four batters to the plate in an inning
Brett Roneberg drew a two-out walk in the final frame and Simon Pond followed with a single to chase Hill from the game
Closer Roy Corcoran was brought in to face Adam Boeve and allowed a single up the middle that scored Roneberg from second base

Corcoran would pick up his league-leading tenth save of the season when he struck out Rafael Alvarez to end the game

Mike Connolly (2-3) pitched well, although in a losing effort, allowing just three runs and striking out six in six innings pitched
The left-hander has now received just over 2.5 runs in support during his six starts, not including an 11-5 victory on May 3

Alex Escobar ripped a two-run homerun to left field to start the scoring for the Senators in the third inning
Harrisburg added another tally in the third when Dan Dement pushed a bunt single down the third base line to score Cory Kasko from third base

Roneberg extended his consecutive games hit streak to 13 with a single in the fourth inning

The Curve and Senators will play the middle game of their three-game series on Tuesday at 6.05pm at Commerce Bank Park
Landon Jacobsen will start for the Curve against Harrisburg’s Kip Boughknight

One start after lasting less than an inning, Shawn Hill came to within an out of a complete game shut out as the Senators beat Altoona 3-1

Roy Corcoran came on with two on and two out to record the last out for his league leading 10th save of the season

Hill, who had four previous complete games and one complete game shut out, retired 17 batters from the 4th inning into the 9th inning before allowing a two out walk in the ninth, and then a single, before leaving the game
Hill retired nine staight batters via ground outs and struck out only three batters in tossing the longest outing of the year for the Senators

The Senators struck for their three runs in the third inning, two of them coming on Alex Escobar's third home run of the year and the final run coming on a bunt single by Dan DeMent scoring Kory Casto

The Senators have now won two straight and are 17-14 on the season while Altoona falls to 19-12 on the season

Game two of the series is Tuesday night at Commerce Bank Park with RHP Kip Bouknight opposed by Altoona RHP Landon Jacobson
The first pitch is scheduled for 6.05pm and the game can be heard on 1460 The Ticket beginning at 5.50pm
Tuesday night is Nesting Doll night courtesy of Aquafina and it's also Principal Family Fun Fest night beginning at 3.05pm

Some sports statistics just make you shake your head, like the ones involving the Curve/Harrisburg all-time series
Altoona has dominated the Senators over the years at Blair County Ballpark, posting a 49-18 record
But when those same players have competed on Harrisburg’s home field, it’s been a much different story, with the Senators holding a 37-30 edge entering Monday night’s game

Make that 38-30

Harrisburg did all its damage in the third inning with three runs and rode Shawn Hill’s stellar pitching performance to a 3-1 win over the Curve at Commerce Bank Park

Hill had a three-hit shutout going with two outs in the ninth inning, but he couldn’t finish it off
Altoona put a couple runners on base to chase the Senators’ starter and scraped out a run, though it was too little, too late
Roy Corcoran came on to record the final out and earn his league-leading 10th save

Hill (3-2) was charged with a run on four hits with three strikeouts and a walk in getting the win

Curve starter Mike Connolly (2-3) took the loss, allowing all three Harrisburg runs on seven hits over six innings
He struck out six and walked three

One bright spot for the Curve was reliever Brady Borner coming on to pitch two innings of scoreless ball, a boost the struggling pitcher needed

Brett Roneberg also provided a bright spot with a single in the fourth inning that extended his hitting streak to 13 games

Alex Escobar ripped a two-run homer to account for Harrisburg’s first two runs in the third
Dan Dement made it 3-0 with an RBI infield single later in the frame

The Curve broke up Hill’s shutout bid thanks to a two-out walk by Roneberg and single by Simon Pond in the ninth
Adam Boeve then singled off Corcoran to plate Roneberg

The Curve’s No. 3-6 hitters each had one hit, while the rest of the lineup came up empty

Escobar was 2-for-3 for Harrisburg, which has won two in a row after snapping a six-game losing streak

Shawn Hill humbled more than the Altoona Curve with his performance on the mound last night at Commerce Bank Park
Harrisburg's ace right-hander humbled himself a bit, too, in firing 8-2/3 gorgeous innings to lead the Senators to a 3-1 victory over one of the Eastern League's best teams

Hill's gem - he took a three-hit shutout into the ninth before allowing a pair of two-out baserunners and ultimately a run - wasn't reason enough for the 25-year-old Canadian to celebrate
"That's basically what I always do" Hill said of his pitching style of keeping it low and throwing a lot of strikes
"I just stayed in the zone tonight, and they kept hitting at everybody
It's chance"

With a devastating sinker in his repertoire, Hill forces a ton of groundouts
Last night, 17 Curve players grounded out, with nine of them going to second baseman Dan DeMent

"If you throw quality strikes, you're playing the percentages" Hill said
"Sometimes they might get you, but the odds are in your favor"

Hill really wanted the complete-game shutout, which would have been only the third in the Eastern League this season
After retiring the first two batters of the ninth, excitement got the best of him
He walked Brett Roneberg after getting ahead 0-2
Then he left a pitch up for Simon Pond, who laced a solid single into right field
Closer Roy Corcoran relieved Hill, surrendered an RBI single to Adam Boeve but whiffed pinch-hitter Craig Stansberry to finish the win for Hill (3-2) and nab his 10th save

"I'm mad, not at manager John Stearns for taking me out, but at myself" Hill said of the late yank
"I kind of tasted the shutout and tried a little too hard"

Hill finished with three strikeouts and a walk, relying heavily on the error-free defense behind him

"Staying active like that, you're into every pitch" said DeMent, who was 1-for-2 with an RBI
"I had a feeling almost with every ground ball
I'd look in and see catcher Josh Emmerick's sign and almost know what was coming"

Said Stearns - "What that shows you is the strength of his sinker. It's ground ball after ground ball after ground ball"

Harrisburg (17-14) produced all its offense off Altoona starter Mike Connolly (2-3) in the third inning
Alex Escobar laced an 0-2 changeup high and deep into left-center field for a two-out, two-run homer

"He stands very close to the plate, and he's very quick on the inside pitch" Stearns said about Escobar (2-for-3), who improved his team-best batting average to .338
"He stands so close to the plate, if you want to pitch him inside, you almost have to hit him
That makes it tough to pitch to him, and their pitcher left one out over the plate"

Continuing the inning, Kory Casto walked and advanced to third on Frank Diaz's single
DeMent took notice of Pond playing deep at third and laid down a perfect bunt single to score Casto and give the Senators a 3-0 lead
"We look for that with men on third, two outs and the third baseman playing deep" said DeMent, who ended an 0-for-13 skid
"If you bunt to a decent spot, it's a hit and an RBI. I'd been struggling a bit, and I got the right pitch to do it on"

Altoona, which led the South Division coming into last night's game, fell to 19-12

Notes
SS Ian Desmond missed his third straight game with a minor back injury
C Salomon Manriquez missed his second straight game nursing a sore hamstring
In his emergency start at Class AAA New Orleans Sunday, Senators RHP Justin Echols picked up the win, allowing three earned runs, four hits and four walks in five innings - as of late last night, it was still uncertain whether he'd return to Harrisburg or stay with the Zephyrs
Roneberg, who extended his hitting streak to 13 games, and Pond previously played for the Senators
Roneberg hit .294 with four homers and 36 RBI in 63 games in 2002
Pond was hitless in three at-bats with the Sens in 1998
Curve manager Tim Leiper was Harrisburg's hitting coach in 1998
Connolly was 0-for-50 batting in his career before singling in his first at-bat yesterday
The Principal Financial Family FunFest comes to Commerce Bank Park at 3.05pm today, featuring more than 20 baseball attractions and activities
For more information go to www.principal.com/funfest

Shawn Hill tossed 8-2/3 scoreless innings as Harrisburg defeated visiting Altoona, 3-1, on Monday

Hill (3-2) was dominant, sitting down 17 straight from the fourth inning until the ninth, when he surrendered a two-out base on balls - his only walk - and a single before being replaced
He allowed just four hits and struck out three in picking up the victory

Hill's effort was the longest outing of the year by a Sens pitcher and was quite an improvement from his previous start when he lasted less than an inning

Roy Corcoran came on for Hill and immediately gave up an RBI single to Adam Boeve, scoring Brett Roneberg
Corcoran fanned the next batter to pick up his league-leading 10th save

Harrisburg (16-14) scored all of its runs in the third inning
Robert Fick started the rally with a single to center field
Two batters later, Alex Escobar connected on a two-run homer to center field
Later in the inning, Dan Dement dropped down a bunt single that scored Kory Casto from third, giving Harrisburg a 3-0 lead

Escobar went 2-for-3 with his third homer, two RBIs, a walk and a run scored

Dement chipped in with a hit, an RBI and a stolen base to pace the Senators attack

Brett Roneberg's fourth-inning single extended his hitting streak to 13 games

Adam Boeve's RBI single was the Curve's only run of the game

Michael Connolly (2-3) allowed three runs on seven hits in the loss
Connolly walked three and struck out six in six innings

Altoona (19-12) has now dropped four of its last five