The Result
Curve - 5 runs to 4

The Curve - Year-to-Date
51 won and 36 lost

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

At the end of the Game
0 hit from 3 at-bats - 2 x walks, 1 x run-batted-in, 1 x strike out

Brett's at-bats
First at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Runner at second base - two down
Called strike - fast ball - at the knees
Ball - "Roneberg checked his swing ...... Did he go??? ......No, says the third base umpire!!!"
Ball - low and inside
Ball - fast ball - "that was just a bit outside"
Called strike - on the inside corner
"And here comes the full count pitch ...... and it's a swing and a miss!!! ...... and Roneberg strikes out to end the innings and the Curve leave a runner stranded at second base"
Strike out
Second at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Led off the innings
Ball - low
"That is hit deep into centrefield!!! ...... and it's a long run for the fielder!!! ...... but he gets there and makes the catch on the warning track for the first out of the innings"
Fly out to centrefield - F8
Third at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Runner at first base - one down
Ball - outside
Ball - high and away
Foul ball - bounced off the catcher
Ball - high and away
"The runner is going ...... and Roneberg swings and hits towards shortstop, who gathers the ball and throws to first base for the out ...... the double play option was gone with the runner going on the pitch"
Ground out to shortstop - 6 to 3
Fourth at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Led off the innings
Ball - fast ball - high
Ball - "apparently low!!!"
Ball - low
Ball - fast ball - low and inside - "and the SeaWolves pitcher has walked the tying run on for pitches ...... and that's not what you want to do when you have a four runs to three lead in the top of the eighth innings"
Walk
Advanced to second base on an infield hit
Left stranded at the end of the innings
Fifth at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
It is the top of the ninth innings!!!
The score is SeaWolves leading four runs to three!!!
The bases are loaded!!!
There is one down!!!
Foul ball - back to the screen
Ball - low
Called strike - fast ball - on the outside corner
Ball - "and where did that miss??? ...... it was right there!!! ...... you can't get much closer than that!!! ...... the pitcher is showing his disgust!!! ...... and the fans are letting the home plate umpire know what they think of that call!!!"
Ball - outside
Ball - "Roneberg gets the walk and the SeaWolves have walked in the tying run here in the top of the ninth innings"
Walk - 1 x RBI
Left stranded at the end of the innings

Heard during the game

Email from Brett

The Final Plate Appearance!!
Well, I will say that it was as close as it was made out to be!!
The pitch beforehand was down and away and that made the count 1-2
I didn't complain but it really looked bad for the umpire the way he caught the ball
The next pitch was about a ball lower and he couldn't call it - it wasn't a strike!!
Then the next one was outside and then the next was down - and I got the walk
I was pretty happy with the at-bat but I would've loved to have hit a Grand Slam!!
And YES - you were listening to the Erie radio broadcast!!

Game Reports

The Altoona Curve used last-inning heroics for the second time in three nights, defeating the Erie SeaWolves Sunday afternoon at Jerry Uht Park, 5-4

Brett Roneberg drew a bases-loaded walk to push the tying run across the plate in the top of the ninth and Simon Pond’s sacrifice fly brought in the game-winning score

Trailing 4-3 after eight frames, the Curve (51-36) used hits by Nyjer Morgan and Vic Buttler along with walks from Roneberg and Brian Bixler to score twice in their final at-bat and take a one-run lead

Altoona’s closer Brandon Knight was called on to record the final three outs and did not disappoint, retiring the side in order for his team-leading seventeenth save

In his first appearance with the Curve since returning to the team from Triple-A, starter Mike Connolly struck out seven while allowing four runs in 5-1/3 innings

Relievers Blaine Neal, Jorge Vasquez and Knight combined to shut the ‘Wolves (37-49) batters down over the next three-plus frames, surrendering just two hits

Erie’s John Ennis was saddled with the loss after blowing the save opportunity in the ninth inning
The right-hander gave up two ninth-inning runs on two hits and a pair of walks

Morgan’s double came with one out in the ninth inning, and was followed by Bixler’s walk and a single by Buttler
Roneberg would walk to tie the game a 4-4 before Pond lifted a fly ball to centerfield that allowed Bixler to tag up and score the eventual game-winning run

The SeaWolves jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning when Jackson Melian doubled to plate Vincent Blue and Dmitri Yount

The Curve would answer with a single run in their next at-bat, as they would each time Erie scored

The two teams would combine to hit four homeruns, including solo blasts by Pond and Javier Guzman

The Curve and SeaWolves will play the final game Monday night at 7.05pm at Jerry Uht Park before breaking for this season’s All-Star Game in Altoona
The Curve’s Ron Chiavacci (0-2, 3.34) will oppose Erie’s Jair Jurrjens (3-0, 2.45)

Simon Pond's sacrifice fly capped a two-run ninth inning as visiting Altoona edged Erie, 5-4, on Sunday

With SeaWolves reliever John Ennis protecting a 4-3 lead in the ninth, Nyjer Morgan smacked a one-out double, Brian Bixler walked and Vic Buttler singled to load the bases
Brett Roneberg drew a walk to plate Morgan and Pond lifted a fly ball into center field that gave Altoona (51-36) the lead for good

Curve reliever Jorge Vasquez (2-2) inherited a runner at first in the eighth but recorded three straight outs to earn the win

Brandon Knight tossed a perfect ninth to garner his seventeenth save

Starter Michael Connolly allowed four runs on five hits over 5-1/3 innings, striking out seven and walking two

Ennis (2-3) took the loss, surrendering two runs on two hits in the ninth
He struck out one and issued two walks

Erie starter Virgil Vasquez gave up two runs on four hits in six innings, fanning seven without issuing a walk

Jackson Melian smacked a two-run double in the first and led off the fourth with his eighth homer for the SeaWolves (37-49)

Kody Kirkland launched a sixth-inning solo shot, his seventeenth, to cap the scoring for Erie

The Curve saved their knockout punch for the final round Sunday afternoon

Altoona rallied from a one-run deficit in the ninth inning to beat Erie, 5-4, after sparring back and forth with the SeaWolves all game long at Jerry Uht Park

The Curve have beaten Erie in the ninth inning twice in the last three days

Nyjer Morgan sparked the comeback with a one-out double off SeaWolves closer John Ennis (2-3)
Brian Bixler then walked and Vic Buttler blooped a ball into shallow left-center to load the bases
The next batter, Brett Roneberg, fell behind 1-2 before battling back to draw a walk that forced in Morgan and tied the game
Simon Pond then followed with a sacrifice fly to center field to drive home Bixler with the decisive run

Jorge Vasquez (2-2) earned the win with a perfect eighth inning, and Brandon Knight nailed down his seventeenth save with a 1-2-3 ninth

Altoona starter Mike Connolly allowed two first-inning runs, but the Curve immediately answered when Pond led off the second inning with a homer to right

The two teams then traded jabs
Erie scored single runs in the fourth and sixth innings, but Altoona countered each time, with Javier Guzman homering in the fifth and Ray Sadler scoring on a wild pitch in the seventh

Connolly allowed four runs on five hits and two walks in 5-1/3 innings
The left-hander struck out seven in his first start back with the Curve after coming down from Triple-A

Curve manager Tim Leiper was ejected in the fourth inning for arguing with home plate umpire Robert Price
Hitting coach Brandon Moore ran the team the rest of the way

The SeaWolves let one slip away on Sunday afternoon as they fell to the Altoona Curve by a final score of 5-4

Erie built a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning
Vince Blue led off the inning with a walk and stole second base
After a Brent Clevlen strikeout, Dmitri Young walked to put runners on the corners for Kurt Airoso
Airoso went down on strikes for the second out of the inning and it was up to Jackson Melian
Melian sent a two-RBI double off the wall in centerfield to give the ‘Wolves the lead

Altoona cut the lead down to one when Simon Pond led off the top of the second inning with a solo-home run
The homer for Pond was his fifth of the season against Erie

The ‘Wolves extended their lead back to two runs when Melian led off the bottom of the fourth with his eighth home run of the season
The solo shot gave Erie a 3-1 lead

The Curve again cut the lead down to one run in the top of the fifth when Javier Guzman homered with one out making the score 3-2 Erie

In the bottom of the sixth with one out, Kody Kirkland put the ‘Wolves back on top by two runs when he connected on his league leading seventeenth home run of the season over the wall in left-centerfield

In the top of the seventh, Altoona, for the third time in the game, cut the SeaWolves lead back to one run when they scored an unearned run
Ray Sadler led off the inning with a single and would score on a wild pitch
Two errors by Kirkland in the inning made the run unearned

The ‘Wolves took a 4-3 lead into the top of the ninth inning and they went to their closer John Ennis. Ennis was looking for his tenth save of the season but could not convert

With one out, Nyjer Morgan doubled down the left field line, putting the tying run in scoring position
Brian Bixler drew a walk to put the go-ahead run on base
With runners on first and second, Vic Butler singled to load the bases for Brett Roneberg
Roneberg drew a base loaded walk that allowed the tying run to score from third
Pond followed by sending a sacrifice fly to centerfield that scored Bixler from third, giving Altoona their first lead of the game at 5-4
Ennis struck out Sadler to end the inning but the damage was done

In the bottom of the ninth, Altoona’s closer Brandon Knight retired the side in order to pick up his seventeenth save

Pretty in pink, they weren't
You could say it was more like a pink nightmare
Four errors on routine plays, wasted situational hitting opportunities and a blown ninth-inning save opportunity

All were lowlights of the SeaWolves' 5-4 loss to the Altoona Curve on Sunday in front of 2,774 fans at Jerry Uht Park

Donning pink uniforms and caps on breast cancer awareness day, the SeaWolves nearly survived their shaky defense and poor fundamentals offensively and defensively
They led the entire game until the Curve rallied with two runs off closer John Ennis in the ninth inning

Had the SeaWolves (37-49) held on to win, it would have been their first back-to-back home wins since they swept a four-game series from Reading on May 18-21
Erie has won only five of its past nineteen home games and dropped to a league-worst 15-28 at home with Sunday's setback

"When you're not winning, it's usually because you don't make the routine plays or you don't get the hit when you need it or you don't make the pitch when you need it" SeaWolves manager Duffy Dyer said
"Right now, we're not doing any of those
That's why we're not winning consistently"

Altoona trailed 4-2, but took advantage of two fielding errors on routine grounders by Erie third baseman Kody Kirkland to score an unearned run in the seventh and pull within 4-3
The two errors increased Kirkland's season total to nineteen

Erie's current seven-game homestand, excluding Saturday's 3-0 win over Altoona, has been fraught with suspect defense, fielding errors on routine ground balls and butchered throws off routine grounders
Three errors on routine plays on Friday contributed to a 5-4 loss to Altoona

"We all have things we need to work on to get better because we're here for a reason and we need to work on those things to get to the big leagues" SeaWolves utility infielder Don Kelly said
"Everybody here can play and they just have to believe that, go out there and do it"

"On defense, we're just not making the routine plays we should be making nine out of ten times or nine and a half times out of ten" Dyer said
"We're just into struggling right now and we'll come out again tomorrow and work on it again
It is frustrating to play this way"

Kelly had two throwing errors Sunday, and while neither error hurt Erie, he has struggled with his throwing since he joined Erie on Tuesday from Triple-A Toledo
He has four throwing errors in six games with Erie

"I have to stay at it and keep working on it" Kelly said
"It's going to come"

"We've been working on his throwing" Dyer said
"We've worked on it in infield drills
I played first base and he threw every ball just perfect to me
The balls had good carry to them, he had a good four-seam grip and the ball had good, tight rotation and he was very accurate
It's just one of those things where he is struggling with that right now
He'll battle through it
He's a fine young man and a hard worker"

Kelly tripled with one out in the sixth, but the SeaWolves, leading 4-2, left him stranded

In the seventh, the SeaWolves loaded the bases with one out but couldn't score

"Our situational hitting wasn't very good when we got men in scoring position" Dyer said
"We didn't have too many good at-bats
Their pitchers threw well, but still we didn't make enough contact when we needed to"

Ennis (2-3) was summoned to start the ninth and allowed two hits and two walks as Altoona (51-36) rallied for the win

Detroit Tigers designated hitter Dmitri Young was 0-for-4 with a walk and a run scored Sunday in the third game of his four-game rehab assignment with Erie
He is 2-for-9 with three walks in three games
Young will complete his Erie rehab work today and join Triple-A Toledo on Thursday

The SeaWolves have lost six straight Sunday games and are 3-10 on Sundays this season