The Result
SeaWolves - 5 runs to 2

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

Brett's Position and the Batting Order
Playing - Leftfield
Batting - #3

At the end of the Game
1 hit from 4 at-bats - single, 2 x strike outs

Brett's at-bats
First at-bat
Lefthanded pitcher
Bases empty - two down
Ball - downstairs
Called strike - "a big overhand breaking ball"
Ball - low and outside
Ball - downstairs
"Brett hits that sharply but straight at the first-baseman who gathers the ball and takes it to the base for the final out of the innings"
Ground out to first base - PO3
Second at-bat
Lefthanded pitcher
Bases empty - one down
Foul ball - off to the first base side
Ball - away
Ball - low - "and Roneberg checks his swing and the SeaWolves appeal to the third base umpire who says there was no swing"
"That's a laser beam past the diving second-baseman and out into rightfield and Brett has a base hit"
Single to rightfield
Advanced to second base on a hit
Left stranded at the end of the innings
Third at-bat
Lefthanded pitcher
Runner at first base - none down
Foul ball - "and that was lucky for the Curve ...... the ball was smoked down the line but the SeaWolves' first-baseman was able to handle it and could have easily turned the double play if the ball had not been foul by just a few inches"
Foul ball - down the first base side
Ball - inside - "and Roneberg had to move out of the way of that pitch"
Swing and a miss - "Roneberg went fishing for that outside pitch and came up empty"
Strike out
Fourth at-bat
Lefthanded pitcher
Called strike
Ball - downstairs
Ball - outside
Ball
Called strike
Foul ball - off the catcher's mask
Foul ball - back
Called strike - "and that pitch was right down the middle and Roneberg goes down on strikes for the second time tonight"
Strike out

Heard during the game

(#01) As Brett came in for his first at-bat, the commentator mentioned - "And now in steps Brett Roneberg, who last night was selected as the "MVP - Star of Stars" in the Eastern League All Star Game ...... and no-one else even came close to his 3-from-5 with three runs-batted-in performance"

(#02) In the top of the fourth innings, the SeaWolves leadoff batter hit and the commentator said - "That ball is laced down the line passed the diving third-baseman and into leftfield ...... and it was a great job by Roneberg to get over there and get the ball in and keep the hit to a long single"

Email from Brett

Game Reports

The Altoona Curve dropped their second-half opener, 5-2 to the Erie SeaWolves, Thursday night at Blair County Ballpark

Despite a 3-for-4 day by Brandon Chaves (three doubles), the Curve could not keep Erie at bay as they pulled ahead for good with a three-run seventh inning
Chaves provided the majority of the Altoona offense Thursday night, driving in both Curve runs with a two-out, game-tying double in the sixth inning
The third baseman also had lead-off doubles in the third and fifth innings, but was left stranded on base in both frames
His three doubles tied Brad Eldred's franchise record for most doubles in a game

The SeaWolves jumped on top early, scoring once in the first inning off of Curve starter Wardell Starling
After Erie’s first three batters reached base safely courtesy of a walk and back-to-back singles, left fielder Jackson Melian drove in Vince Blue with a sacrifice fly to center

The SeaWolves would score once more in the fourth after their first three-batters reached base safely once again

Starling recieved a no-decision after pitching 4-1/3 innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on seven hits
The right-hander struck out five and walked one

After Chaves’ game-tying double in the sixth, Erie wasted no time retaking the lead

SeaWolves right fielder Brent Clevlen hit a three-run, line drive over the left field fence off of Curve reliever Jorge Vasquez, pushing Erie on top for good
Clevlen was the first batter Vasquez faced after relieving Chris Hernandez

Hernandez got the loss for the Curve, his third of the season

Jon Connolly picked up the win for Erie after pitching seven solid innings, allowing two Curve runs on eight hits while walking none and striking out two

The Curve and the SeaWolves will continue their four-game series tomorrow night
Jason Roach (4-2, 1.81), who rejoined the Curve from Indianapolis (AAA) Thursday morning, gets the start for the Curve against Erie right-hander Nate Bumstead (6-6, 3.78)

Curve Notes
After nineteen starts this year, right-hander Matt Peterson made his first appearance out of the bullpen for the Curve Thursday night and pitched a scoreless ninth inning
Wednesday night’s ‘Star of Stars’ of the Eastern League All Star Game, Brett Roneberg, was 1-for-4 against the SeaWolves
He singled to right in the fourth inning

Brent Clevlen's three-run homer in the seventh inning lifted visiting Erie to a 5-2 victory over Altoona on Thursday
With two outs and runners on the corners, Clevlen sent a pitch from Jorge Vasquez over the left-field wall for his seventh blast to give the SeaWolves (38-50) a 4-2 lead

Adam Haley had four hits and scored once, while Clevlen was 3-for-5 for Erie, which won for the third time in its last ten games

The SeaWolves lead the Eastern League with seventy-seven roundtrippers

In his third game with Erie, starter Jon Connolly (1-1) allowed two runs on eight hits while striking out two over seven innings
His older brother, Michael, is a starter for Altoona

John Ennis struck out one in a perfect ninth to notch his tenth save

The Curve (52-37) tied the game, 2-2, in the sixth on a two-out, two-run double by Brandon Chaves
He had three of Altoona's eight hits

Reliever Chris Hernandez (5-3) took the loss after allowing three runs on one hit and a walk with a pair of strikeouts over 2-1/3 innings

Jackson Melian hit a sacrifice fly in the first and Don Kelly delivered an RBI double in the fourth to give the SeaWolves a 2-0 lead

Todd Parnell’s gall bladder didn’t make an appearance on “Awful Night,” probably a good thing for everyone with a weak stomach
The Curve had planned to give away the general manager’s surgically removed gall bladder during their annual salute to awfulness Thursday
Sanity - perhaps legality - prevailed, though, as the club instead handed out pictures of Parnell’s diced-up organ to the 4,861 fans at Blair County Ballpark

“I was just told that it couldn’t happen” Parnell said of the gall bladder giveaway
“I did have somebody ask me to see the scar, so I had to show the scar”

Brandon Chaves was anything but awful as he tied a team record with three doubles, but Erie made it an awful night for the Curve with a 5-2 win

The SeaWolves’ Brent Clevlen drilled a line-drive, three-run homer with two outs in the seventh inning for the difference

Some of the awful renderings on tap included the teams’ names misspelled on the scoreboard - Eerie and Altuna - as well as some truly hideous outfits worn by Curve staffers
For instance, broadcaster Joe Moore donned a sleeveless black “Daddy’s girl” T-shirt borrowed from community relations director Elsie Zengel, and he wore skin-tight black leather pants to finish off the ensemble
One of the night’s giveaways was a loaf of bread, and public address announcer Rich DeLeo finished an in-game birthday song to fans by saying, “happy birthday, you’ns guys”
When the game ended, the franchise put on a firework - not fireworks - display by setting off a single airborne firework

The fourth edition of “Awful Night” may have lost some of the luster from previous award-winning installments, but the effort was there

“It was awful” Curve manager Tim Leiper said with a laugh
Leiper wasn’t upset about missing out on Parnell’s gall bladder because “seeing the picture was bad enough”

The Curve trailed 2-0 entering the sixth inning against Erie lefty Jon Connolly, the brother of veteran Altoona pitcher Mike
Chaves then ripped a bases-loaded, two-run double to even the game at 2-2

“We had two days off for the All-Star break, I felt good with the rest and just tried to put the barrel on the ball” Chaves said

Chaves got off to a fast start this season but saw his average drop to .238 with a recent slump
The big game Thursday, his manager said, can be “the kind of game to help turn him around”

Erie put two runners on with two outs against Curve reliever Chris Hernandez (5-3) in the seventh
Jorge Vasquez came on to face Clevlen, who smacked the decisive homer just over the wall in left

Erie’s bullpen held on, and John Ennis worked the ninth inning for his tenth save

Jon Connolly (1-1) got the win, giving up two runs on eight hits with two strikeouts and no walks over seven innings

“It’s definitely a different experience” Mike Connolly said of watching his brother face his team
“It’s good to see him up here, and he did well tonight
It’s nice to see him doing well”

Since this is the last series between the Curve and SeaWolves, the two Connollys won’t get a chance to face each other
It could happen at some point, though, since the Triple-A affiliates for both organizations play in the International League
“Down the road maybe that would be a neat little thing to do” Mike Connolly said

Two days of rest proved to be a welcomed for the Erie SeaWolves as they took game one of a four-game set against the Altoona Curve 5-2

Erie struck first in the top of the first inning
Vince Blue led off the inning with a walk
Adam Haley and Brent Clevlen followed with singles to load the bases for Kurt Airoso
Airoso struck out, but Jackson Melian sent a sacrifice fly to centerfield, bringing Blue home to score, for a 1-0 SeaWolves lead

The ‘Wolves extended their lead in the top of the fourth inning
Airoso led off the inning with a single and reached second on an error by the pitcher
Don Kelly doubled home Airoso for a 2-0 lead

The Curve tied the game in the bottom of the sixth inning
Brian Bixler led off the inning with a single
With one out, Simon Pond singled to put runners on first and second
David Parrish hit into a fielder’s choice that put runners at the corners for Ray Sadler
Sadler was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Brandon Chaves
Chavez connected on his third double of the game, plating two runs, tying the game at 2-2

Erie wasted no time getting back on top in the top of the seventh
Danilo Sanchez led off the inning by drawing a walk
With two outs, Haley connected on his fourth single of the game, putting runners on first and second for Clevlen
Clevlen slammed his seventh home run of the season over the wall in left to give Erie a 5-3 lead

SeaWolves starter Jon Connolly tossed seven solid innings, allowing two runs off of seven hits
He struck out two and did not issue a walk in picking up his first win of the season

John Ennis shut the door in the ninth, retiring the side in order for his tenth save

Right fielder Brent Clevlen's three-run homer in the seventh inning broke a 2-2 tie and lifted the SeaWolves to a 5-2 win over the Altoona Curve on Thursday before 4,861 fans at Blair County Ballpark

The SeaWolves (38-50) defeated Altoona (52-37) for just the fifth time in sixteen games this season

Clevlen, the Single-A Florida State League most valuable player in 2005, went 3-for-5 and Erie left-hander Jon Connolly earned his first Eastern League victory with seven innings of two-run ball

Trailing 2-0, Altoona tied the game in the sixth on Brandon Chaves' two-run double to right

SeaWolves catcher Danilo Sanchez opened the seventh inning with a walk off Altoona reliever Chris Hernandez
Hernandez struck out Erie's Kelly Hunt and Vince Blue before Adam Haley reached first on an infield single
Hernandez was pulled for reliever Jorge Vasquez
Clevlen greeted the right-hander with a homer to left, his seventh of the season

Connolly (1-1), making his third start with Erie following his July 1 promotion from Single-A Lakeland, scattered eight hits, struck out two and did not issue a walk over seven innings

Erie southpaw Ian Ostlund pitched a scoreless eighth inning and closer John Ennis worked a scoreless ninth to earn his tenth save

SeaWolves second baseman Adam Haley, hitting second in the lineup, went 4-for-5 and scored a run

Erie took a 1-0 lead in the first on Jackson Melian's sacrifice fly to center

The SeaWolves improved to 23-21 on the road

The four-game series resumes today at 7.05pm

The SeaWolves conclude their series with Altoona on Sunday and return home on Monday to begin an eight-game homestand with a 6.05pm doubleheader against the Bowie Baysox