The Result
Curve - 5 runs to 4

The Curve - Year-to-Date
50 won and 35 lost

Brett's Position and the Batting Order
Playing - Designated hitter
Batting - #4

At the end of the Game
2 hits from 4 at-bats - 2 x singles - 1 x run-batted-in, 1 x run scored, 1 x sacrifice fly

Brett's at-bats
First at-bat
Lefthanded pitcher
Runner at first base - two down
Called strike - "and that was a breaking ball at the top of the zone"
Ball - missing outside
Swing and a miss - breaking ball - outside
"That ball is driven deep into leftfield and the fielder can't catch up to it and it will have to be played off the wall and Roneberg is held to a long single"
Single to leftfield
Runner advanced to third base
Left stranded at the end of the innings
Second at-bat
Lefthanded pitcher
Bases empty - one down
Foul ball - back to the screen
"That's bounced towards the SeaWolves' first-baseman who takes the ball and throws to the pitcher covering first base to make the out"
Ground out to first base - 3 to 1
Third at-bat
Lefthanded pitcher
Runner at first base - one down
Foul ball - bouncer down the first base side
Ball - breaking ball - low
Called strike - "checked his swing on that breaking ball but the umpire called it"
"Roneberg lines that into rightfield for a base hit"
Single to rightfield
Runner advanced to second base
Brett advanced to second base on a walk to the next Curve batter
Scored on a hit
Fourth at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Runner at second base - two down
Called strike - fast ball - underneath
Called strike - on the outside corner
Foul ball - back
"That pitch is popped up into shallow centrefield and the shortstop goes back and around to make the catch"
Fly out to shortstop - F6
Fifth at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
It is the top of the ninth innings!!!
The score is tied at four runs apiece!!!
The bases are loaded!!!
There is one down!!!
Ball - low
Called strike - breaking ball
Called strike - "that pitch was at the knees and the Curve Manager is coming down from the third base coaching box to argue that call ...... he is not at all happy about it!!!"
Foul ball - "Roneberg reached out and fouled that away and into the seats"
"Roneberg lifts that ball way out into centrefield and it's going to be deep enough to score the run ...... the runner at third base is tagging and comes home without a throw as the play was made to third base ...... and the Curve take the lead here in the ninth inning on the sacrifice fly by Brett Roneberg"
Sacrifice fly to centrefield - SF8 - 1 x RBI

A note from Sharon
......who was listening and sent this pic via email to Brett - straight after the game finished!!!

Heard during the game

Email from Brett

Game Reports

The Altoona Curve scored a run in their final at-bat to defeat the Erie SeaWolves 5-4 at Jerry Uht Park on Friday night

Curve All-Star Brett Roneberg lifted a sacrifice fly to center field to score Nyjer Morgan from third base and Brandon Knight pitched a perfect ninth inning to give Altoona the win

Nyjer Morgan began the ninth inning for the Curve by reaching on an error and advanced to third base after a Brian Bixler single
Following a pitching change and a walk to Vic Buttler, Roneberg plated Morgan to score what proved to be the game-winning run

The Curve had battled back from a 3-0 deficit to take a one-run lead in the top of the sixth inning when they scored four times in the frame

The advantage was short-lived however, as the SeaWolves would knot the game at four runs apiece in the next inning

Erie would get on the scoreboard first in the game, tallying two unearned runs in the second inning
Jackson Melian and Kody Kirkland came around to score when Ray Sadler misplayed a ball in right field that would have been the third out

Curve All-Star Shane Youman started the game and allowed four runs on six hits in 6-2/3 innings, earning a no-decision
The left-hander will next pitch in the 2006 UPMC Health Plan Eastern League All-Star Game at Blair County Ballpark on Wednesday, July 12

Relief pitcher Franklin Perez improved to 2-0 on the season, pitching 1-2/3 scoreless innings out of the bullpen before turning the game over to Knight, who earned his team-leading sixteenth save of the year

David Parrish finished the game 3-for-3 including a two-RBI triple, his first of the season, that helped give the Curve their first lead of the game in the sixth inning

Brian Rogers suffered the loss after allowing Morgan’s unearned run in the ninth inning

Erie starter Jonathan Connolly allowed three runs on nine hits in 5-2/3 innings of work and earned a no-decision

The Curve and SeaWolves will resume their series Saturday night at Jerry Uht Park
A pair of All-Stars will face off when Altoona’s Landon Jacobsen starts against Erie’s Nate Bumstead at 7.05pm

One of the Curve’s most impressive single-season records soon may belong to Shane Youman
The left-hander didn’t get the win in Altoona’s 5-4 victory over Erie on Friday, but Youman did well enough to stake his claim to history
The only thing standing between him and the feat is a decision by the Pirates

Youman gave up two earned runs in 6-2/3 innings, putting his season ERA at 1.57
If he’s promoted to Triple-A Indianapolis during the upcoming All-Star break, that ERA will stand as the best in franchise history
Sam McConnell set the club record with a 1.61 ERA in 2000, on his way to starting in the Double-A All-Star Game
The Pirates promoted McConnell to Triple-A after that contest
Youman, the frontrunner to start for the Southern Division in Wednesday’s Eastern League All-Star Game, leads the league in ERA and should warrant consideration by the Bucs for a call-up to Indianapolis

There is a caveat, however, to Youman’s record
To be eligible for the Curve record books, the franchise stipulates that a pitcher must have thrown 75 innings
Youman is currently at 74 1-3 innings, so if he doesn’t make another appearance, he would fall short of the minimum
However, Jason Dambach, the Curve’s record keeper, said he would consider tweaking the minimum number of innings so that Youman could be included

Zach Duke, in case you’re wondering, had a 1.58 ERA in 2004, but he pitched only 51-1-3 innings, making him ineligible for the record

The Curve rallied from a 3-0 deficit by scoring four runs in the sixth inning off Erie lefty Jon Connolly, the younger brother of Altoona’s Mike Connolly
Dave Parrish’s two-run triple highlighted the frame

The SeaWolves tied the game in the seventh, then Brett Roneberg’s sacrifice fly in the ninth scored Nyjer Morgan with the winning run

Franklin Perez (2-0) tossed 1-1-3 innings of scoreless relief for the win, while Brandon Knight worked the ninth for his sixteenth save

Erie reliever Brian Rogers (3-2) took the loss

Brett Roneberg's sacrifice fly in the top of the ninth inning lifted Altoona over Erie, 5-4, on Friday

Nyjer Morgan reached on second baseman Juan Francia's throwing error before Brian Bixler singled and Vic Buttler walked to load the bases
Roneberg followed with a fly ball to deep center field, plating Morgan with the go-ahead run for the Curve (50-35)

David Parrish went 3-for-3 with a two-run triple and a run scored for Altoona, which took three of four from Erie

Franklin Perez (2-0) picked up the victory with 1-1/3 scoreless innings and Brandon Knight worked a 1-2-3 ninth for his sixteenth save

Brent Clevlen homered and rehabbing Detroit first baseman/designated hitter Dmitri Young went 1-for-3 with an RBI as the SeaWolves (36-48) lost for the fourth time in five games

Brian Rogers (3-2) took the loss after yielding an unearned run on a hit, a walk and a wild pitch in 2-2/3 frames
He struck out three

Altoona (Double-A, 50-35) won, 5-4, at Erie (Tigers)

Designated hitter Brett Roneberg drove in the game-winning run with a sacrifice fly in the ninth inning

Catcher David Parrish collected three hits and two RBI

Right-hander Franklin Perez (2-0) pitched 1-1/3 scoreless innings of relief for the win

SeaWolves manager Duffy Dyer entered the team's clubhouse interview room after his club's 5-4 loss to the Altoona Curve on Friday and gave a half-kick to a nearby bench
The shoddy defense he witnessed from his club before a crowd of 3,194 at Jerry Uht Park had stirred his frustration

"Poor defense, that's it - three basic plays" Dyer said
"We can't give them extra outs, and we do it, and it killed us tonight"

Altoona (50-35) broke a 4-4 tie in the ninth on Brett Roneberg's sacrifice fly
The run was set up by second baseman Juan Francia's two-base throwing error on a routine grounder with one out

Detroit Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski attended Friday's game and watched from the stands as the 'Wolves (36-48) dropped to a league-worst 14-27 at home

The 'Wolves are in last place in the Southern Division standings by a half-game behind fifth-place Reading

Friday's game also marked the return of Detroit Tigers designated hitter Dmitri Young, who began a four-game rehab assignment with the SeaWolves and his second rehab stint this season with the club
Young started at first base, hit third in the lineup and went 1-for-3 with a walk and a fifth-inning RBI single
Young declined interview requests after the game

"I thought he looked good" Dyer said
"He took some good at-bats and I think he looked like he was seeing the ball pretty good
I was told to play him a couple of games at first base and maybe half a game in the outfield, so we'll talk it over and see exactly what they want done"

Young began his rehab assignment with games at Single-A Lakeland Wednesday and Thursday
After he completes his Erie assignment, he will continue his rehabbing on Thursday at Triple-A Toledo
Young rehabbed for two games with Erie May 3-4, but was put on the Tigers' disabled list for the second time this season May 23 with a strained quadriceps muscle in his right leg

"I thought he looked better than the first time he came here" Dyer said
"He looked a little rusty then, but he wasn't in Lakeland playing then"

The SeaWolves couldn't shake off their rust in the field, despite taking a heavy dose of infield drills Friday afternoon
Erie committed three errors and threw away the game

In the ninth, after fielding Altoona outfielder Nyjer Morgan's routine grounder, Francia threw wide and low of first base for a two-base error with one out
Morgan went to third on an infield single and scored the winning, unearned run on Roneberg's sacrifice fly to medium center

Erie also blew a 3-0 lead
Altoona scored four sixth-inning runs, with the final three coming with two out on a two-run triple and a throwing error by shortstop Don Kelly, whose low throw in the dirt put the Curve ahead 4-3

"We've gone out and played good games this season and have lost by a run, but some of the mistakes we make have cost us games" Erie right fielder Brent Clevlen said
"We have to learn to play through the mistakes and keep battling"

Clevlen tied the game at 4 with a seventh-inning solo homer to left-center

"It's disappointing when you don't make the routine plays" Dyer said
"If you give them extra outs, it usually costs you
To waste a good pitching effort like we did, and we had a lead, and we should have been able to hold it"

Notes
Erie center fielder Nook Logan started Friday's game after sitting out Thursday's 2-0 home loss to Akron with a minor quadriceps injury
However, in the second inning he reaggravated it while running out a grounder and left the game at the end of the inning
Vince Blue replaced Logan in center