Trouble for Erie? --
you 'Brett'cha!
In four games against
the Erie SeaWolves this season, Brett Roneberg is batting .474
with four runs scored
The Australian native has the highest on-base percentage (.500)
of any Curve player against Erie, going 9-for-19 with a walk against
the intrastate rival
Roneberg became the seventh player in the history of the Curve
to collect five hits in a game when he went 5-for-6 against the
SeaWolves at Jerry Uht Park on May 3, and has had at least one
hit in all four games he's played against Erie
The Result
SeaWolves - 9 runs
to 5
The Curve - Year-to-Date
31 won and 18 lost
Brett's Position and
the Batting Order
Playing - Designated
hitter
Batting - #4
At the end of the Game
3 hits from 4 at-bats
- 2 x singles, double, 2 x runs scored
Brett's at-bats
First at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Bases empty - two down
Ball - inside
"And that pitch is ripped over the first-baseman's head and
down the line ...... this will be extra bases for Brett as it
scatters the pitchers in the Curve bullpen down the rightfield
line"
Double to rightfield
Scored on a home run by the following Curve batter
Second at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Led off the innings
Ball
Ball - inside
Called strike
"That ball is hit sharply back up the middle and Brett has
his second hit of the night ...... his is seeing the ball very
well and continues to up his average in the Eastern League Batting
Top-10 ...... he came into this game third in the League with
an average of 325"
Single to centrefield
"The count is 3-and-2 on Simon Pond and here comes the pitch
...... and it is hit right at the SeaWolves' first-baseman who
makes the catch and steps on the bag to double off Brett ......
there was nothing to be done there as he was off on the pitch"
Third at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Led off the innings
Ball - upstairs
"Brett pops this one up and it's down the leftfield line
and the fielder drifts across to make the catch"
Fly out to leftfield -
F7
Fourth at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Led off the innings
Ball - downstairs
Called strike
Swing and a miss
"That's a bouncing ball up the middle and Brett has his third
hit of the night"
Single to centrefield
Advanced to second base on an infield ground out
Scored on an infield fielder's choice play and error
Heard during the game
(#01) When Brett was standing on first base after his second at-bat, the commentator said - "Brett now has two hits for the game and he also picked up a couple in last night's game ...... and he should have had three in that game if it weren't for some strange rulings by the official scorers!!!"
(#02) 
--After
Brett's fourth at-bat, the commentator said - "Brett has
three hits tonight and continues his red hot batting and it's
no wonder he uses that red-toned bat ...... in fact, his bat was
one of the natural coloured ones, but his hitting has turned it
red!!!"
(and click on the photo for
more shots of "Brett and His Bat")
Email from Brett
Love my red bats!!!
Game Reports
A three-run lead in the first inning was not
enough for the Curve on Saturday night as they lost to the Erie
Seawolves 9-5 at Jerry Uht Park
Brett Roneberg went
3-for-4 for Altoona to collect half of the teams’ total hits
The Curve claimed an early lead just three batters into the game
when Sean Casey hit his first homerun since starting his rehabilitation
assignment with Altoona
Erie answered the early offensive attack by the Curve with three
runs of their own in the third to tie the game
The SeaWolves took the lead for good with a five-run fifth inning,
capped off by a three-run blast by Christopher Maples, his second
of the night
Josh Shortslef (5-1) was handed his first loss of the season,
surrendering eight runs on eight hits in four innings of work
The left-hander had begun the year with victories in his first
five decisions, one win shy of the franchise record
Winning pitcher Nate Bumstead (3-5) pitched six efficient innings
for Erie, allowing four runs on five hits with five strikeouts
Eulogio De La Cruz, the only other pitcher used by the SeaWolves,
picked up his second save of the year, giving up just two hits
in the final three frames
During Friday’s series opener, it was the Curve who rallied
to a win from an early 6-1 hole to extend their winning streak
to five games
However, the SeaWolves had the last laugh on Saturday, fighting
back from two separate deficits and have now won nine of their
last eleven contests
Casey made his first hit a thunderous one for the Curve, belting
a solo-homerun with two outs in the first inning
After going 0-for-3 for Altoona in his debut on Friday, Casey
put his team out in front and jumpstarted the Curve to three consecutive
extra-base hits in their first at-bat and an early 3-0 lead
The Curve would manage just three more hits in the next eight
innings combined, as they were outslugged 14-7 in the hit column
by the SeaWolves
Four different players had multi-hit games for Erie, including
former Pittsburgh farmhand Kody Kirkland, who finished 3-for-3
with four RBI
The two teams will continue their series on Sunday at 1.05pm at
Jerry Uht Park in Erie, PA
Mike Connolly (4-3) will start for the Curve against Humberto
Sanchez (5-2) for the SeaWolves
Christopher Maples blasted two home runs and
five RBIs as Erie crushed visiting Altoona, 9-5, on Saturday
Maples lifted a two-run shot in the second inning and a three-run
homer in the fourth
Kody Kirkland registered the four other Erie RBIs with a one-run
double in the second, a two-run double in the fourth and an RBI
single in the fifth
Mike Rabelo also had three of the SeaWolves' 14 hits
Nathan Bumstead (3-5) picked up the win for Erie (24-25)
He allowed four runs on five hits over six innings
He struck out five and walked five
Eulogio De La Cruz earned his second save, allowing one run on
two hits over three innings
Curve hitters were held to six hits
Altoona starter Josh Shortslef (5-1) gave up eight runs on eight
hits over four innings
He struck out six and walked one
Brett Roneberg went
3-for-4 with two runs scored for the Curve (31-18)
The loss snapped Altoona's five-game winning streak
The SeaWolves fell behind early against the
Altoona Curve on Saturday night but rallied for a 9-5 victory
The Curve struck first in the top of the first inning
After Nate Bumstead struck out the first two hitters of the game,
Sean Casey, playing with Altoona on a rehab assignment, connected
on a home run over the right field wall putting the Curve up 1-0
Brett Roneberg came
to the plate and doubled and Simon
Pond smashed a two-run home run to right giving Altoona a 3-0
lead
Josh Shortslef was on the hill in the game for Altoona
Shortslef was undefeated heading into the game at 5-0 with a 3.48
ERA
In the bottom of the second, Mike Rabelo singled with one out
After Shortslef retired Brent Clevlen, Kody Kirkland doubled to
bring home the first SeaWolves run of the game
The next batter was Chris Maples and he tied the game with a two-run
home run over the wall in centerfield
The homer was Maples fifth of the season
Altoona regained the lead in the top of the fourth inning
Craig Stansberry led off the inning with a walk and he stole second
base
After a David Parrish fly-out, Brant Ust singled home Stansberry
putting the Curve up 4-3
From that point on it was all SeaWolves
In the bottom of the fourth, Kurt Airoso singled up the middle
and Rabelo hit a blooper to right field that fell in for a hit
putting two runners on base for Erie
Clevlen followed by drawing a walk to load the bases for Kody
Kirkland
Kirkland doubled for the second time in as many at bats bringing
home Airoso and Rabelo, giving Erie their first lead of the game
at 5-4
Maples followed with a towering three-run home run over the wall
in left, putting Erie up 8-4
The home run was Maples sixth of the year and his second of the
game
The ‘Wolves would add one more run in the bottom of the fifth
Jackson Melian led off with a single
With one out, Rabelo connected on his third hit of the game, moving
Melian to second
Kirkland then followed with his third hit of the game scoring
Melian from second, putting Erie up 9-4
The Curve would get an unearned run in the top of the eighth inning
but the SeaWolves held on for a 9-5 win
Bumstead (3-5) won his second consecutive start and his second
of the year against Altoona
Eulogio De La Cruz pitched the final three innings of the game
to pick up his second save
Notes
Chris Maples has four home runs in his last six games at Jerry
Uht Park - four of his six homers have come at home
Kelly Hunt turned to lineouts to first into double plays - the
second of the two came off the bat of Brandon Chaves with one
out in the ninth to seal the victory for the ‘Wolves
Juan Francia had two hits in the game - it was the first time
this season Francia has notched a multi-hit game
Chris Maples and Kody Kirkland accounted for all the RBI in the
game - Maples had five and Kirkland had four
The SeaWolves gave Josh Shortslef his first loss of the season
- he had been 5-0
Altoona (Double-A, 31-18) lost, 9-5, at Erie
(Tigers)
1B Sean Casey went 1 for 4 with a solo home run
DH Brett Roneberg finished
3 for 4 with a double, scoring two runs
LHP Josh Shortslef (5-1) suffered the loss, allowing eight runs
in four innings, while striking out six
Sean Casey helped the Curve get off to a quick
start Saturday night, but things fell apart for Altoona shortly
thereafter
Casey, the Pirates’ first baseman who’s on a rehab assignment,
belted a solo homer in the first inning
The Curve added two more runs in the frame, but Erie stormed back
and snapped Altoona’s five-game winning streak with a 9-5
victory at Jerry Uht Park
Curve starter Josh Shortslef, the first pitcher in franchise history
to open a season 5-0, had a tough night in suffering his first
loss
Shortslef gave up three runs in the second inning and five in
the fourth, finishing with a line of eight earned runs on eight
hits with six strikeouts and one walk over four frames
The Curve offense occasionally bailed out Shortslef during his
unbeaten streak, rallying from ninth-inning deficits three times
to help the left-hander avoid a loss
But this time, the margin was too great
Casey went 1-for-4 and stranded five runners on base
He came up with the bases loaded and two outs in the second inning
but bounced out, and he later flew out and grounded out
Casey, 1-for-7 on his rehab assignment, is scheduled to be Altoona’s
designated hitter today, then could rejoin the Pirates on Monday
Two batters after Casey’s first-inning homer, Simon Pond
belted a two-run shot to give the Curve a 3-0 lead
Pond’s seven homers lead the club
Erie’s Chris Maples ripped a two-run homer in the second
inning, and he connected for a three-run blast in the fourth as
the SeaWolves took the lead for good
Altoona had just grabbed a brief 5-4 lead in its half of the fourth
on an RBI single by Brant Ust
Nate Bumstead (3-5) gave up four runs in six innings to win for
Erie
Eulogio De La Cruz worked three innings of relief for his second
save
Curve outfielder Vic Buttler missed his fourth straight game with
a hamstring injury
Altoona left-hander Josh Shortslef entered
Saturday's start against the SeaWolves looking to remain unbeaten
and to become the Eastern League's first six-game winner
Instead, Shortslef endured his roughest outing of the season
The SeaWolves homered twice and knocked him out of the game after
a five-run fourth inning in a 9-5 victory before 4,410 fans at
Jerry Uht Park
Erie (24-24) ended a two-game losing streak and defeated the first-place
Curve (31-18) for just the third time in nine games this season
Erie's No. 7 and No. 8 hitters in the lineup - third baseman Kody
Kirkland and right fielder Chris Maples - led a 14-hit assault
on Curve pitching
"That's what we've been looking for and we have to give SeaWolves
hitting instructor Pete Incaviglia a lot of credit because he's
been working hard with them" SeaWolves manager Duffy Dyer
said
"We've been watching some film lately of guys from last year
who were at Single-A Lakeland and have seen some differences with
some of the guys who have been struggling
Pete's been working hard studying film and getting them a lot
of swings and I really think the offense is starting to come around"
Maples hit a pair of homers, scored twice and drove in five runs
while Kirkland went 3-for-3 with two doubles, a single, a walk,
two runs scored and four RBIs
"That's not your typical bottom of the lineup" Maples
said
"We have quite a bit of power down at the bottom of the lineup
Their starter had kind of a rough night, but you have to credit
our hitters a little bit
We got guys on base and put pressure on him"
The multiple-homer game was the first of Maple's five-year minor-league
career
Maples tied the game at 3 with a two-run homer to left in the
third
After the Curve went ahead 4-3 with a run in the fourth, the SeaWolves
struck for five runs and five hits in their half of the inning
Kirkland's two-run double to left-center put Erie ahead 5-4
Maples followed with his second homer, a three-run shot to left
"On the first at-bat, I got a ball that was middle-in and
put a good swing on it, but on that second one, it was a slider
down and I really don't know how I hit it out of the park"
Maples said
"I thought it was going to be a good sacrifice fly or a ball
off the wall
It snuck out for me"
"That ball is jumping off his bat" Dyer said
"He hit a couple of balls that, to be honest, I didn't think
they were home runs when they left the bat, but they just kept
going"
Kirkland leads the league in homers (12) and extra-base hits (27),
is second in RBIs (32), tied for second in runs scored (30) and
fifth in slugging percentage (.506)
Shortslef took a 5-0 record and a 3.48 ERA into Saturday's start
His four-inning outing was his second-shortest of the season in
nine starts
Shortslef beat Erie with seven innings of three-hit ball on May
1 in a 5-1 Curve win
The eight runs were the most he's given up in a start this season
"We knew he was set at 88 or 89 mph and occasionally topped
out at 94" Maples said
"We knew he had some juice and had some life on his ball
As a right-hander, it kind of eliminated his change-up a little
more because he was more of a fastball-slider guy
He wasn't the same pitcher he was the first time
We did what we had to do"
Erie catcher Mike Rabelo had three hits in four at-bats and scored
twice
"We tried to put his fastball in play because it's not much
fun trying to hit that slider he throws" Rabelo said
"We took advantage of some pitches we could hit"
Altoona jumped on Erie starter Nate Bumstead for three runs in
the first inning
With two outs, Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman Sean Casey lined
a homer to right field
Bumstead then gave up
a double to Altoona designated hitter Brett Roneberg and a two-run homer to left fielder Simon Pond
Casey, playing the second game of his three-game weekend rehabilitation
stint with the Curve, went 1-for-4 with an RBI
Casey played first base and hit third in the lineup for the second
straight night
He is scheduled to complete his rehab assignment today
After his first-inning homer, Casey grounded out to first with
the bases loaded to end the second inning, flied out to left in
the fourth and grounded out to first in the seventh
Casey went 0-for-3 on Friday in Altoona's 8-6 win over Erie