The Result
Curve - 2 runs to 1

The Curve - Year-to-Date
37 won and 27 lost

Brett's Position and the Batting Order
Playing - First base
Batting - #4
-----------and changed to leftfield at the start of the seventh innings

At the end of the Game
1 hit from 4 at-bats - double, 1 x run-batted-in, 1 x run scored

Brett's at-bats
First at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Runner at first base - two down
Ball - fast ball - away
"That ball is bounced over the first-baseman's head (???) but the second-baseman gets around to cover it and throws on to the pitcher covering first base for the final out of the innings ...... that was a fine defensive play by the Senators' second-baseman"
Ground out to second base - 4 to 1
Second at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Runner at second base - none down
"Brett breaks his bat on that hit and it goes over the second base bag and the fielder is able to get it and throw Roneberg out at first base"
Ground out to shortstop - 6 to 3
Runner advanced to third base
Third at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Runner at first base - one down
Ball - up and away
Ball - breaking ball - inside
Called strike/foul ball - ??? - did not hear
"Brett really tags that one and it is hit deep into right(centre?)field ...... and it's over the fielder's head and the ball crashes onto the warning track and bounces into the fence!!! ...... and the runner is scoring all the way from first and Brett cruises into second base ...... and the Curve have tied the game at 1-1 here in the bottom of the sixth innings on Roneberg's RBI double"
Double to right(centre?)field - 1 x RBI
Scored on a hit
Fourth at-bat
Lefthanded pitcher
Runner at first base - two down
Ball - downstairs
Ball - downstairs
Called strike
Balk and the runner was awarded second base
Ball
"Roneberg pops that pitch up to the third-baseman who makes the catch standing even with the bag and the innings is over"
Infield pop up to third base - F5

Heard during the game

(#01) As Brett came in for his first at-bat, the commentator said - "Now in steps Brett Roneberg, a powerfully built lefthanded hitter who is currently batting 308 for the year"

Email from Brett

Game Reports

The Altoona Curve snapped a three-game losing streak on Wednesday night, defeating the Harrisburg Senators 2-1 at Blair County Ballpark

The Curve overcame a 1-0 deficit and a fifty-four minute rain delay to win with two runs in the sixth frame

The Senators threatened in the top of the ninth inning against reliever Brandon Knight, but the right-hander slammed the door on the comeback with consecutive strikeouts to end the game
The scoreless inning of work for Knight gave him his team-leading ninth save

Vic Buttler ripped a one-out double in the sixth inning and later scored on a Brett Roneberg double off the wall in centerfield
Roneberg scored what proved to be the game-winning run when the next batter, Rafael Alvarez, single to right field

Mike Connolly started the game for the Curve and allowed one unearned run on no hits in three innings
The lefthander had to leave the game after rain forced a fifty-four minute rain delay in the bottom of the third inning

Reliever Chris Hernandez spelled Connolly to start the fourth inning and pitched three shutout frames to earn his fourth victory of the year

The Senators scored in their first at-bat of the game but couldn’t hold the lead, and had their five-game winning streak snapped

Kip Bouknight surrendered two earned runs in 6-1/3 innings pitched for his third loss of the year

The two teams combined for just ten hits and only Buttler had more than one basehit for the Curve, going 2-for-2 with a run scored and two walks

The Senators and Altoona Curve hooked up in a good old-fashioned pitchers duel that ended with the Curve on top 2-1

The Senators had the tying and go ahead runs on base in the ninth, but couldn't get the hit they needed to tie the game

Kip Bouknight started for the Senators and lasted 6.1 innings, and outlasted a fifty-four minute rain delay in the third, to pitch a solid outing
Even though he picked up the loss, it was a very well pitched game for Bouknight
He allowed just four hits and the two runs, with both runs scoring in the sixth inning for Altoona

The Senators scored their only run in the first inning when Melvin Dorta walked, stole second and then moved to third when the throw went into center field
He scored when Kory Casto grounded out to shortstop
That was the only run the Senators would push across the plate

Coming into the game the Senators had been averaging six runs per game over their past ten games, and had scored at least eight runs in four of their past five games

Prentice Redman had two hits for the Senators to extend his hitting streak to ten games for the Senators and Frank Diaz also had two hits

The Senators and Altoona Curve play game three of the three game series Thursday at 7.05pm
LHP Oscar Alvarez will take the mound for the Senators opposed by RHP Kip Wells for the Curve
Wells is making a MLB Rehab start for Altoona

On his own, no mortal Eastern League pitcher could halt the momentum in the bats of the Harrisburg Senators
So precipitation got involved

Cooled off equally by a nearly one-hour rain delay and four Altoona pitchers, the streaking Senators fell 2-1 to the Curve last night at Blair County Ballpark

Altoona's triumph snapped a season-high five-game winning streak for the Senators, who'd averaged more than eight runs a game over that span

Against starter Mike Connolly and relievers Chris Hernandez, Jorge Vasquez and Brandon Knight, Harrisburg (35-29) managed just five hits and one unearned run, failing in its bid to catch the second-place Curve (37-27) in the South Division standings

After surrendering a run in the first and waiting through a fifty-four minute rain delay in the bottom of the third inning, Altoona finally cracked Senators starter Kip Bouknight (3-4) in the sixth
Vic Buttler walked with one out and scored on a double by ex-Senator Brett Roneberg
After a strikeout, Rafael Alvarez singled to score Roneberg

Bouknight allowed just four hits in 6-1/3 innings, walking three and striking out five

Hernandez (4-2), who replaced Connolly after the delay, notched the win, with Knight collecting his ninth save

Connolly walked Melvin Dorta to start the game, and the Senators' utility expert stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error
He then scored on a groundout by Kory Casto

Prentice Redman and Frank Diaz belted back-to-back singles off Knight with one out in the ninth, but Josh Whitesell and Salomon Manriquez struck out to end the game

Notes
Redman (2-for-4) has hit safely in all ten of his games with Harrisburg
Diaz (2-for-4) also extended his season-high hitting streak to ten games
Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Kip Wells makes a rehab start with the Curve tonight - he has yet to pitch with the Pirates this year after surgery in March to repair a blocked artery in his right arm

Rafael Alvarez hit a go-ahead RBI single in the sixth inning to lift Altoona past Harrisburg, 2-1, on Wednesday at Blair County Ballpark

Trailing, 1-0, in the sixth, Vic Butler drew a one-out walk and scored on Brett Roneberg's line-drive double to right
Two batters later, Alvarez singled to left, scoring Roneberg with what proved to be the game-winner

Butler went 2-for-2 with a pair of walks and scored a run to lead the Curve, who collected just five hits

Chris Hernandez (4-2) replaced starter Mike Connolly to start the fourth after a fifty-four minute rain delay and tossed three scoreless innings to pick up the win
He allowed two hits, struck out two and did not walk a batter

Brandon Knight allowed consecutive one-out singles in the ninth, but struck out the next two batters to end the game and earn his ninth save as Altoona (37-27) snapped its three-game losing streak

Kip Bouknight took the loss after allowing two runs on four hits
He struck out five and walked three over 6-1/3 innings for Harrisburg (35-29), which had its five-game winning streak stopped

Prentice Redman and Frank Diaz led the Senators with two hits apiece

The Curve weren’t going to let the baseball gods stop them from winning Wednesday night

A rain delay knocked Altoona’s most reliable starter of late, Mike Connolly, out of the game after only three innings, but clutch hitting and a dominant showing from its bullpen helped the team beat Harrisburg, 2-1, before 3,726 fans at Blair County Ballpark

The win snapped a three-game losing streak for the Curve

‘‘Anytime you can only throw a starter out three innings, it’s not really good for your club, but you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do’’ Altoona manager Tim Leiper said
‘‘I believe in the baseball gods more than anything
There are baseball gods, but, you know, if you don’t pull yourself up in times of need, then the baseball gods really get you
Hey, it is what it is, and you can’t cry about it’’

The Curve trailed after the first inning for the fourth consecutive game, this time 1-0, but they rallied to score twice in the sixth inning against Senators starter Kip Bouknight (3-4)
Vic Buttler drew a four-pitch walk with one out, and Brett Roneberg tied the game when he ripped a double to straightaway center just over the head of Harrisburg’s center fielder, Frank Diaz

‘‘I had two at-bats (before that) and I chased two pitches way out of the zone, and I didn’t want to do it again’’ Roneberg said
‘‘Diaz can fly out there in the outfield and he’s got a strong arm, and I saw him running back on my ball
I was glad he didn’t catch it, that’s for sure
I would have been a little upset if he did’’

An out later, Rafael Alvarez singled to left to score Roneberg, marking the first time in four games the Curve have held a lead
The inning ended when Alvarez was thrown out trying to stretch the hit into a double, but not before Altoona had claimed its first lead in its last thirty-three innings of play

‘‘I had no idea, that’s how much I’m concerned about the streak’’ Leiper said
‘‘We will have plenty of leads this year
That’s the least of my worries’’

Bouknight gave up only the two runs in his 6-1/3 innings of work

His Curve counterpart, Connolly, did not return after the rain delay, which lasted fifty-four minutes
The lefty pitched three hitless innings and gave up an unearned run

Chris Hernandez (4-2) relieved Connolly and did everything his manager could have asked of him, keeping Altoona in the game with three scoreless innings
The right-hander looked sharp throughout his outing, allowing only two hits and striking out two

‘‘I knew that our bullpen would have to pick up the six innings, with the rain coming’’ Hernandez said
‘‘I felt pretty comfortable out there
A lot of good command with my fastball, and the breaks just fell for me today’’

The Curve survived a scare before sealing the win, however
Jorge Vasquez relieved Hernandez in the seventh inning and surrendered a leadoff single to Diaz
He then uncorked two wild pitches to leave the tying run on third base with one out
With the infield in, Vasquez struck out Salomon Manriquez for the second out

‘‘He’s got the stuff that can strike people out, and that’s exactly what he did’’ Leiper said
‘‘The last thing I wanted to do was to give up an easy run there and go into extra innings
We brought the infield in, but he got the strikeout and obviously, that was a huge play in the game’’

The hard-throwing right-hander then appeared to have escaped the inning unscathed when he induced a routine grounder to shortstop from Dan Dement
Javier Guzman had plenty of time to make the throw, but his throw drew first baseman Simon Pond off the bag
Pond, who had just entered the game as part of a double switch, leaped to snare the throw and swiveled around to tag Dement for the third out
‘‘Pondy’s made a lot of managers look like geniuses’’ Leiper said, laughing
‘‘He’s a good player’’
Brandon Knight nailed down his ninth save with a scoreless ninth inning

Altoona (Double-A, 36-27) won, 2-1, at home against Harrisburg (Nationals)

First baseman Brett Roneberg was 1 for 4 with an RBI double and left fielder Rafael was 1 for 2 with an RBI

Starting pitcher Chris Hernandez got the victory throwing three scoreless innings to improve his record to 4-2

Relief pitcher Brandon Knight recorded his ninth save of the year, pitching a scoreless ninth and striking out two batters