The Result
Defenders - 2 runs to 1

The Curve - Year-to-Date
60 won and 43 lost

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

At the end of the Game
2 hits from 4 at-bats - 2 x singles, 1 x run-batted-in, 1 x strike out

Brett's at-bats
First at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Runners at first and second base - one down
Ball - low
Called strike - on the outside corner
Foul ball - down the leftfield line and into the crowd
Ball - outside
"And here comes the '2ball-2strike' pitch ...... and Roneberg swings and misses and strikes out for the second out of the innings ...... and that is an important out for the Defenders with two runners on base"
Strike out
Second at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Led off the innings
Foul ball - back to the screen - "and Brett is first pitch swinging ...... he loves to do that"
Ball - outside
Ball - outside
Called strike
Foul ball - down the leftfield line
"Roneberg 'hits a rope' out into rightfield for a lead off hit here in the top of the fourth innings"
Single to rightfield
Out at second base on a double play hit by the following Curve batter
Third at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Runners at second and third base - one down
Ball - low
Ball - outside
Foul ball - to the left side
"Roneberg hits that into centrefield for a base hit ...... and the runner from third base comes in to score and the runner from second base advances to third base ...... and the game is now tied at '1-1' here in the top of the sixth innings!!! ...... and Brett now has fourty-nine runs-driven-in for the season!!!"
Single to centrefield - 1 x RBI
Advanced to second base on a walk
Left stranded at the end of the innings
Fourth at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Runner at first base - none down
Called strike - "and the runner is taking off!!! ...... and he is safe at second base!!! ...... and the Curve now have the go ahead run in scoring position with none down here in the top of the eighth innings in a '1-1' ballgame"
"Roneberg hits that on the right side and he almost gets his third hit of the night but it is speared by the Defenders' first-baseman and he takes it to the bag himself ...... Roneberg has done his job as he moved the potential go ahead run across to third base with one down"
Ground out to first base - PO3

Heard during the game

(#01) As Brett came in for his first at-bat, the commentator said - "And with runners at first and second base, Brett Roneberg steps into the box ...... Brett is a clutch hitter, and has fourty-eight runs-batted-in for the season and an average of 0.329 with runners in scoring position"

(#02) After Brett's run scoring single in his third at-bat, the commentator continued - "We told you earlier in the game that Brett is a clutch hitter, and he proved it again there by driving in the tying run, which is also the first run of the ballgame for the Curve"

Email from Brett

Game Reports

Franklin Perez saw his Curve franchise-record scoreless streak snapped at twenty-three innings as Todd Jennings singled in the go-ahead run in the bottom of the eighth inning to give the Connecticut Defenders a 2-1 win over Altoona Thursday night at Dodd Stadium

The Defenders, previously known as the Norwich Navigators, became the first club to plate a run against the 28-year old Perez since June 13th
Earlier in the week, he surpassed the previous franchise record of 20-1/3 consecutive scoreless innings, set by Chris Spurling during the 2002 season

The Curve (60-43) dropped the opener of their seven-game road trip, which includes four games against the Defenders and three next week in Harrisburg

Connecticut (47-59) ended its franchise record eleven game losing streak with the win, marking the second time this season that Altoona was on the wrong side of the ledger as an opponent ended a double-digit losing skid
In early April, Trenton ended a season opening ten game skid with a win over the Curve

The go ahead run in the bottom of the eighth was unearned after Nate Schierholtz reached base to lead off the inning on an error by first baseman Simon Pond
Schierholtz scored from second when Jennings ripped a two out base hit into left field

Perez (2-2) took the loss for Altoona after relieving starter Mike Connolly in the seventh

Connolly allowed only one run on four hits over six innings to receive a no decision

Eastern League All Star Billy Sadler (4-3) picked up the win for Connecticut

Altoona plated its lone run in the top of the sixth inning on a Brett Roneberg RBI single, which evened the game at 1-1
Later in the frame, Defenders reliever Oscar Montero kept the game tied after striking out both Dave Parrish and Brandon Chaves with the bases loaded

Nyjer Morgan posted three of the Curve's nine hits by going 3-for-4
Roneberg, Brian Bixler and Vic Buttler recorded two hits apeice

The two clubs will continue their four-game set Friday night at 7.05pm at Dodd Stadium
Right-hander Wardell Starling (2-2, 3.28) will get the start for Altoona against Connecticut righty James Garcia (2-4, 5.30)

Todd Jennings snapped an eighth-inning tie with an RBI single as Connecticut halted an eleven game losing streak with a 2-1 victory over Altoona on Thursday

Nate Schierholtz reached on first baseman Simon Pond's error with one out in the eighth and, after Brian Buscher grounded out, Franklin Perez (2-1) plunked Jake Wald
Jennings ripped a single into left field to score Schierholtz for a 2-1 lead

Billy Sadler (4-3) allowed one hit and walked one in the eighth before striking out two in a 1-2-3 ninth as the Defenders (47-59) snapped the longest skid in franchise history

Derin McMains and Jennings each had two hits, while Schierholtz scored twice for Connecticut, which has totaled four runs in its last five games

Defenders starter Jesse Floyd allowed one run on seven hits and two walks while striking out five over 5-1/3 innings

Brett Roneberg had two hits, including an RBI single in the sixth, for the Curve (60-43)

Nyjer Morgan had three hits, while Brian Bixler and Vic Buttler each added two hits as the Curve's first four batters combined for all nine of the team's hits

Perez allowed one run on two hits over two frames, ending his franchise-record scoreless streak at twenty-three innings
He had not surrendered a run since June 13 against Harrisburg

Altoona starter Mike Connolly allowed one run on four hits, struck out three and walked four over six innings

The Connecticut Defenders snapped their longest skid in franchise history on Thursday night thanks to an eighth inning RBI single by Doug Jennings, which gave the team a 2-1 win

The Defenders got solid pitching from start to finish with only a slight bump in the road in the sixth inning

The Defenders already led 1-0 thanks to a bases loaded RBI fielder’s choice ground out by Jesse Floyd in the fourth inning
Floyd hit a slow roller to second base, and beat out a potential double play to drive in a run

In the sixth he allowed a run, and had the bases loaded with one out when he left the game

Oscar Montero came in and struck out back-to-back hitters to escape the jam and preserve the tie

The game remained tied until the bottom of the eighth inning when a Simon Pond error put Nate Schierholtz on base with one out
Schierholtz would advance to second on a ground out
After Jake Wald was hit by a pitch, Todd Jennings lined a base hit into left center field, bringing in Nate Schierholtz to make it a 2-1 Defenders lead

Billy Sadler who had come on in the eighth inning, pitched a one, two, three ninth inning to nail down his fourth win of the year by a 2-1 score

The Defenders will try to get their second straight on Friday night with right-hander James Garcia (2-4) on the mound
The Altoona Curve will send a righty of their own in Wardell Starling (2-2) to face the Defenders

The first pitch is scheduled for 7.05pm

Franklin Perez’s record-breaking streak for most consecutive scoreless innings came to a painful end on Thursday night
The Curve reliever conceded the winning run to Connecticut two batters after getting struck by a comebacker in the eighth inning, as the Defenders won, 2-1, at Dodd Stadium

Perez set an Altoona franchise record on Monday night when he blanked Harrisburg for one inning to extend his streak to 21-1/3 scoreless frames in a row

Perez (2-1) kept Connecticut off the scoreboard in the seventh inning on Thursday, but quickly ran into trouble in the eighth with the score tied, 1-1
The right-hander struck out his first batter and then induced a routine grounder for what looked to be the second out
Curve first baseman Simon Pond bobbled the ball, however, and the runner was safe
Aaron Sisk then smashed a ball right up the middle that ricocheted off Perez’s leg
Third baseman Brandon Chaves recovered the ball and threw Sisk out, but Perez was visibly shaken by the blow
Perez then hit a batter with a pitch, and the next hitter singled to left to snap Perez’s streak at twenty-three innings

Billy Sadler (4-3) picked up the win for the Defenders with two scoreless innings of relief

Altoona starter Mike Connolly failed to move into a tie with teammate Landon Jacobsen atop the Curve all-time wins list
Jacobsen overtook Connolly with his twenty-seventh career win in an Altoona uniform when he beat Harrisburg on Wednesday
Connolly pitched six innings, allowing one run on four hits and four walks
The left-hander struck out three

Connolly surrendered his only run in the fourth inning without allowing a single hit in the frame
He walked the bases loaded before giving up a one-out RBI groundout by Connecticut starter Jesse Floyd

The Curve tied the game in the sixth with Brett Roneberg’s RBI single but left the bases loaded to end the inning

Altoona batted 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position, and grounded into three double plays, two of them ending innings with a runner on third base

There wasn't any champagne flowing in the locker room, but the chicken sure tasted a little better

The Connecticut Defenders' team-record eleven game losing streak finally came to a close Thursday night at Dodd Stadium as the Defenders opened their first series of the season with Altoona with a 2-1 win

The eleven game skid dated back to July 15 and a win over Portland
"Most records are good, but not for the most losses in a row" Defenders manager Dave Machemer said
"It was a good win for us tonight
It's a relief"

"It's been frustrating because we've been playing really solid baseball" catcher Todd Jennings said
"We just haven't been scoring many runs
We've been getting unlucky lately and maybe that luck changed tonight"

The Defenders did get more than a little lucky as they scratched out both their runs with the game-winner coming in the eighth inning
Nate Schierholtz was given a little gift as his one-out bouncing ball to first base was fumbled behind the bag and allowed the Defenders right fielder to reach safely
Then, a sharp ground ball by pinch hitter Brian Buscher struck losing pitcher Franklin Perez (2-1) in the leg and bounded to third base
The Curve got Buscher at first, but Schierholtz moved on safely to second
Shortstop Jake Wald was hit by a pitch to set the stage for catcher Todd Jennings
Jennings, who came in hitting just .237 in his thirteen games with the Defenders, stroked one to center field to bring home Schierholtz with the winning run

"I was sitting on the slider" Jennings said
"I saw the pitching coach go out and talk to the pitcher and I had hit the ball pretty well tonight on some fastballs
I knew he would most likely come with the slider and sure enough he did and he left it up a little bit"

The Defenders took their first lead in a game since their last victory when they scored in the fourth inning off Altoona starter Mike Connolly
Schierholtz again was the catalyst as he walked and stole second base
Aaron Sisk was also able to draw a free pass from Connolly and, after a fly out, Jennings was given the intentional walk to get to pitcher Jesse Floyd
Floyd came through as he hit a ground ball to second base, Javier Guzman attempted to get the double play as he threw to second but the relay was not in time to nail Floyd at first and Schierholtz scored on the fielder's choice

The pitching did the rest as Floyd allowed just one run in 5-1/3 innings
The tally for Altoona came in the sixth on an RBI single by Brett Roneberg that scored Brian Bixler
Floyd was then lifted when he walked Simon Pond to load the bases
Oscar Montero came on to strike out David Parish and Brandon Chaves to end the threat

Billy Sadler (4-3) picked up the win as he went the final two innings, allowed one hit and struck out two

"We're trying to win, we want to win, we just haven't won as many as we would like to lately" Machemer said
"But the guys feel good tonight anyway
We'll bask in this one"

The Defenders have designated Sunday's 2.05pm game with Altoona as National Guard Appreciation Day
The National Guard will bring a color guard consisting of Connecticut Army National Guard soldiers and there will be a fly over featuring a CH-47 Chinook helicopter
It will be the third consecutive year the Guard has been honored prior to a game at Dodd Stadium