The Result
Baysox - 6 runs to 3

The Curve - Year-to-Date
45 won and 32 lost

Brett's Position and the Batting Order
Playing - First base
Batting - #4

At the end of the Game
1 hit from 4 at-bats - single

Brett's at-bats
First at-bat
Lefthanded pitcher
Runner at first base - one down
Ball - upstairs
Called strike
"Roneberg lines this one through the right side and into rightfield for a base hit and the runner is rounding second and heading to third base"
Single to rightfield
Left stranded at the end of the innings
Second at-bat
Lefthanded pitcher
Runner at first base - one down
"This pitch is tagged into right-centrefield but the fielder is able to get across and make the catch for the second out of the innings"
Fly out to centrefield - F8
Third at-bat
Lefthanded pitcher
Led off the innings
Called strike
Called strike/Foul ball - ???
"This ball is hit across the diamond and the second-baseman picks it up and throws to first base to record the out"
Ground out to second base - 4 to 3
Fourth at-bat
Lefthanded pitcher
Led off the innings
Ball - upstairs
Called strike - "that was a nice over-hand curve ball - a beauty!!!"
Called strike
"This is hit into rightfield but straight at the fielder who takes the catch for the first out of the innings ...... it sounded like Brett broke his bat on that swing"
Fly out to rightfield - F9

Heard during the game

(#01) During Brett's first at-bat, the commentator mentioned - "Brett is currently eighth in the Eastern League with a batting average of .297 ...... that is the first time this season that Brett's average has been below the 300 mark, and that shows just how well he has been swinging the bat for the Curve"

(#02) After Brett's third at-bat, the commentator went on to say that - "Including the three at-bats in this game, Brett has just four hits over his last twenty-two at-bats (0.182) in the last six games and that is the reason his average has recently dropped"
NOTE - Brett did not get a hit in his last at-bat of the game, so over the last six games he is 4-for-23 for an average of 0.174

Email from Brett

Game Reports

The Altoona Curve dropped their second straight contest to the Bowie Baysox, losing 6-3 at Blair County Ballpark on Thursday night

The Curve were given a shot in the arm by Nyjer Morgan who made his Double-A debut with Altoona in left field, going 2-for-5 with two runs scored, a stolen base and a triple

The Curve took the lead in the first inning, when Morgan led the game off with a single and stole second to put himself in scoring position
The speedy outfielder would then score on a Vic Buttler single to give the Curve their first lead of the series against Bowie

The Baysox would take the lead for good two innings later when catcher Ryan Hubele launched a three-run homerun to left field off of Curve starter Ron Chiavacci

Chiavacci lost his first decision in four starts with the Curve, allowing four earned runs in 5-1/3 innings while striking out six

The Baysox would build a five-run advantage in the sixth inning, chasing Chiavacci from the game in the process

Eastern League All-Star Cory Keylor reached base to lead off the frame after being hit by a pitch and would score after back-to-back hits by teammates Tony Alvarez and Noah Hall
Alvarez would cross the plate when Leo Daigle drove in his fourty-first RBI of the season with a sacrifice to left field

Left-hander Garrett Olson earned his first win for the Baysox in just his second start at the Double-A level, allowed just two earned runs in six innings and fanning four

Brian Forystek picked up his second save of the season, retiring the Curve in order in the ninth inning

Ray Sadler blasted his ninth home run of the season in the sixth inning, finishing the game 2-for-4

The Curve outhit the Baysox 8-6, but stranded seven runners in the ballgame

Brian Bixler joined Morgan in making his Double-A debut and started the game at shortstop, collecting a single in his second at-bat

Thursday’s game was the first for the Curve since second baseman Craig Stansberry was promoted to Triple-A Indianapolis
The call-up forced a shuffle on the infield as Javier Guzman started at second base, his first start at any position other than shortstop this year

The Curve continue their homestand on Friday night at 7.05pm when they welcome the first-place Akron Aeros to Blair County Ballpark for the first of four games
Matt Peterson will start for the Curve against All-Star pitcher Bear Bay for the Aeros

Ryan Hubele homered for the first time in over two months as Bowie beat Altoona, 6-3, on Thursday at Blair County Ballpark

Hubele hit a three-run homer in the top of the second inning, giving the Baysox (33-41) a 3-1 lead and breaking a 45-game homerless streak for the 25-year-old catcher
Hubele, who went 2-for-4, also led off the fifth with a single and scored what would be the deciding run when Peter Shier was caught in a rundown between first and second

Bowie added two more insurance runs in the sixth, highlighted by Noah Hall's RBI single
Hall was 1-for-3 with an RBI, a run scored and a walk in four trips to the plate

Starter Garrett Olson (1-0) picked up his first Double-A win, allowing two runs on six hits and a walk while fanning four over six innings

Brian Forystek worked a perfect ninth inning for his second save, striking out one batter in the process

The Curve (45-31) scored in the first, sixth and seventh innings

Ray Sadler was 2-for-4 with solo home run in the sixth, while leadoff man Nyjer Morgan was 2-for-5 with a triple, two runs scored and a stolen base

Ron Chiavacci (0-1) took the loss after allowing six runs - four earned - on six hits and three walks through 5-1/3 innings

Nyjer Morgan’s heart raced as he stood in the on-deck circle in the middle of the first inning Thursday night

“It was very nerve-wracking” Morgan said
“I just wanted to calm myself down and just go out there and do what I know best, and that’s get on base and try to help this team win”

Morgan and fellow Curve newcomer Brian Bixler accomplished the first of those goals - get on base - in their respective debuts, but they did so in a losing cause
Altoona fell, 6-3, to Bowie before 4,663 fans at Blair County Ballpark as the Baysox swept their rain-shortened, two-game series

“It was a little bit bitter, but oh well” said Morgan, who along with Bixler just joined the Curve from Single-A Lynchburg
“We’ve just got to keep going out there and keep digging”

Morgan made his presence felt immediately, singling to shallow left in his first Double-A at-bat in the first inning
Batting leadoff, Morgan fell behind 0-2 in the count and fouled off a couple of 1-2 pitches before lifting a blooper over shortstop

“My game is just playing small ball and getting on base, so two strikes, I was definitely not worried about it” Morgan said
“I’ve just got to be patient and fight off pitches until he makes the mistake, and that’s when I capitalize on it”

The speedy outfielder then stole second base, despite Olsen keeping him close to the bag with several pickoff attempts
Morgan, who ranks second in the minors with 39 steals, raced home on Vic Buttler’s one-out single up the middle to give Altoona a 1-0 lead

“Morgan’s speed really makes it better for the guys behind him” Curve manager Tim Leiper said
“He does intimidate, whether he’s on first or whether he’s second
The pitcher’s thought is always on him, and it makes it a little tougher to throw quality pitches to home plate”

Morgan tripled and scored another run in the seventh inning and finished the game 2-for-5

“I just like causing havoc out there” Morgan said
“That’s my whole game
It’s to get on base and do whatever I can”

Bixler got his first Double-A hit shortly after Morgan collected his, when he led off the third inning by cracking a grounder into left field

“It was just nice to get the first one out of the way” Bixler said of the hit, “so you can kind of relax a little bit”

It was all Bowie, however, after Altoona’s promising start as the Baysox scored six unanswered runs to take a 6-1 lead

Ryan Hubele clubbed a three-run homer in the second inning, and Bowie eased away with an unearned run in the fifth and another two runs in the sixth

The Curve could only counter with solo runs in the sixth and seventh innings
Ray Sadler’s ninth homer cut the Baysox lead to 6-2, then Morgan scored the final run in the seventh

Curve starter Ron Chiavacci (0-1) allowed six runs - four earned - in 5-1/3 innings to take the loss
The right-hander walked three and struck out six

Bowie starter Garrett Olsen (1-0) earned the win, lasting six innings and giving up two runs

Brian Forystek picked up his second save with a scoreless ninth inning

Leiper held a closed-door meeting with his team in the clubhouse after the game

“We got a lot of changes and not everybody knows each other, but the one thing is, we have to keep making sure we take care of the little things” Leiper said
“The last two nights, we got outplayed and got outsmarted by a team, to me, who shouldn’t be doing that to us”

One thing Leiper had no complaints about was Javier Guzman’s play on the right side of the infield
Guzman started at second base for the first time, filling the gap left by Craig Stansberry, who was promoted to Triple-A after Wednesday’s game
The former shortstop had an uneventful day in the field, although he grabbed a routine grounder in the third inning and fired a heater to first base that appeared harder than necessary
“He handled himself pretty well” Leiper said
“He’s got a good arm
He’s still got that shortstop arm, and he has the best arm of any second baseman in this league, I can promise you”

Around the Curve
The Curve placed OF Rafael Alvarez on the disabled list before Thursday’s game with a bruised ankle
1B Simon Pond, who got a day off, has an eleven game hitting streak

A big third inning, highlighted with Ryan Hubele's second home run of the season, helped lift the Bowie Baysox over the Altoona Curve for the second straight game with a 6-3 victory on Thursday evening in the Keystone State

After the Curve scored in the bottom of the first inning, Hubele came to the plate in the second with two men on and two outs and delivered a shot to left field, scoring Noah Hall and Leo Daigle
It was the first home run for the Baysox catcher in over two months

In the fifth frame it was more Hubele, as the 25-year-old catcher punched a single to left field and later scored from third while Altoona was in the midst of Pete Shier being picked off at first and caught stealing second base

It would prove to be all the Baysox would need to get past the Curve for just the second time this season

Just to be safe, the Baysox added two more insurance runs in the sixth inning on a Noah Hall RBI single followed by a sac fly off the bat of Daigle

Baysox starter Garrett Olson notched his first Double-A win, allowing just two runs on six hits while striking out four over 6.0 IP

The Baysox bullpen of Richard Stahl, Carlos Jan and Brian Forystek combined to throw 3.0 innings of shutout relief and Forystek pitched a perfect ninth inning for his second save on the year

The only real offense for Altoona came on a Ray Sadler solo home run in the sixth, and a triple by Nyjer Morgan

With both wins in the two game series, the Baysox swept the Curve for the first time this season