The Result
Curve - 6 runs to 4

The Curve - Year-to-Date
63 won and 46 lost

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

At the end of the Game
2 hits from 4 at-bats - triple, single, 3 x runs-driven-in, 1 x run scored

Brett's at-bats
First at-bat

Lefthanded pitcher - Errol Simonitsch
Runners at first and second base - none down
Called strike
Ball - low inside
Ball - change up - high
"And Brett belts that ball out into rightfield!!! ...... and it's over the head of the fielder and it goes all the way to the wall!!! ...... and the runner from second base is in to score and the runner from first base is rounding third base and he is coming in to score!!! ...... and Roneberg is rounding second base and trying for three ...... and he is in there!!! ...... and the Curve take the lead here in the bottom of the first innings on Brett Roneberg's two RBI triple!!!"
Triple to rightfield - 2 x RBI
Scored on a hit

Second at-bat
Lefthanded pitcher
Runner at second base - two down
Ball - high
Called strike
Called strike - "and that pitch catches the outside corner"
Ball - "a big slow curve ball that stayed upstairs"
Ball - downstairs
"Brett goes the other way with that pitch and drives it into leftfield for a base hit!!! ...... and the runner from second is rounding third base and coming in score!!! ...... and the throw in is cut off and the Rock Cats now have Roneberg hung up!!! ...... and he is tagged out for the final out of the innings but not before the Curve score another run!!! ...... and Brett now has three runs-driven-in for the game!!!"
Single to leftfield - 1 x RBI
Tagged out on a run down play
Third at-bat
Lefthanded pitcher
Runners at first and third base - two down
Swing and a miss - "and Brett drops the bat after that swing ...... it looks like he may have hurt his hand ...... he could have over-extended as he went at the pitch ...... it is very hard to tell from here ...... ???"
Ball - outside
Called strike/foul ball - ??? - not broadcasted
"That ball is hit back up the middle and the shortstop moves to his left to collect the ball and flips to the second-baseman covering the bag for the force and the final out of the innings"
Ground out to shortstop - fielder's choice play 6 to 4
Fourth at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Runner at third base - two down
Ball
Called strike
"Roneberg lifts this one into the gap at left-centrefield but the fielder is able to get under it and make the catch for the final out of the innings"
Fly out to left-centrefield - F8

Heard during the Game

(#01) As Brett came in for his first at-bat, the commentator mentioned - "Brett Roneberg now stands in the box and he has been really 'hot' at the plate recently ...... over his last fourteen games he is batting 19-for-47 for an average of 0.404 ...... and he drove in eleven runs during the Curve's recent six game road trip"

(#02) Following Brett's RBI single in his second at-bat, the commentator said - "That is Brett's third run-driven-in for the game ...... and he has now driven in fourteen in just his last seven games!!! ...... it gives him sixty-two for the season and that should put him in the "Top-5" in the Eastern League when the figures are released later today!!! ...... also, he is now just two behind Simon Pond for the top position on the Curve, and you have to remember Brett missed the first eighteen games of the season with a back injury"

(#03) During Brett's fourth at-bat, the commentator said - "Coming in to tonight's game, Brett was eighth in the Eastern League with a batting average of 0.294 ...... his 2-for-4 effort so far tonight will increase that average"

(#04) The Post Game Show - "Brett Roneberg's two RBI triple in the first innings has been awarded the "Hit of the Game" here tonight!!! ...... Brett has been a "run-scoring-machine" for the Curve over the last few games!!!"

Email from Brett

About my third at-bat
I am okay
Just have a bit of a sore finger - only hurts when I swing and miss
And I am definately not going to "AAA"!!
Sucks - but that's how it goes!!

Game Reports

The Altoona Curve scored five times in their first two at-bats, and held on for a 6-4 victory against the New Britain Rock Cats Friday night at Blair County Ballpark

After playing fourteen of its last seventeen games on the road, the Curve showed why they are the Eastern League’s best team at home, wasting no time in jumping out to an early lead over New Britain

Nyjer Morgan started the offensive fireworks with a leadoff single in the first inning and was followed by three more consecutive base hits, including a two-RBI triple by Brett Roneberg

Roneberg finished the game 2-for-4 with three RBI and has now driven in fourteen runs in his last seven games

Although the Rock Cats would answer with two runs in the top of the second, the Curve bounced right back with a two-spot of its own in the bottom of the frame to maintain a three-run cushion

Wardell Starling had his longest outing of the season, improving to 4-2 after allowing three runs on seven hits in seven innings

Curve reliever Brandon Knight entered the game and pitched a perfect ninth inning for his twenty-first save of the year
The right-hander is now just one save away from tying the Curve franchise record, set by Justin Kaye in 2005

Altoona’s hitters pelted Rock Cats’ starter Errol Simonitsch for twelve hits and six earned runs in four innings to send the left-hander to his twelfth loss of the season

Relievers Nate Blackburn and Jay Sawatski would combine to keep the Curve off the scoreboard for the final four innings, but the New Britian offense could not take advantage despite bringing the potential go-ahead run to the plate in the top of the ninth

Five different Curve batters had multi-hit games including Morgan, who finished 2-for-4 with a run two runs scored, RBI and a stolen base

Milver Reyes led both teams with three hits, just his third multi-hit effort of 2006

The two teams will resume their series Saturday night from Blair County Ballpark at 7.05pm
Jason Roach (6-2, 2.26) will start for the Curve against Glen Perkins (2-10, 3.97) for the Rock Cats

Brett Roneberg drove in three runs in the first two innings as Altoona held on for a 6-4 victory over visiting New Britain on Friday

Roneberg, who went 2-for-4, followed back-to-back singles by Nyjer Morgan and Brian Bixler in the first with a triple and scored on a double by Simon Pond

Roneberg's RBI single in the second gave the Curve a 5-2 lead

The 27-year-old first baseman is 22-for-51 since July 18 to raise his batting average from a season-low .276 to .297

Milver Reyes snapped out of a 3-for-35 slump with three hits and Morgan scored twice for the Curve (62-47), who had lost four of their previous six games

Altoona starter Wardell Starling (4-2) gave up three runs on seven hits in seven innings
He struck out four and did not issue a walk

Franklin Perez surrendered a run in the eighth before Brandon Knight fanned two in the ninth for his twenty-first save as the Curve avoided their first three-game losing streak since June 11-13

New Britain starter Errol Simonitsch (7-12) surrendered six runs on ten hits over four innings
He has lost his last two outings, allowing eleven runs in just 6-2/3 frames

Matt Tolbert hit an RBI double in the second and a run-scoring single in the sixth for the Rock Cats (47-62), who have dropped nine of their last twelve

Fireworks lit up the sky, and Tim Leiper’s kids lit up his eyes
A perfect minor league moment

There are numerous advantages to playing at Blair County Ballpark, and the Curve will try to enjoy all of them as the season winds down

They’re playing twenty-one of their final thirty-one games at home
Allowing Leiper’s two children to visit from Ottawa and watch postgame fireworks on his lap
Allowing Brett Roneberg to enjoy sleeping in his own bed
And allowing Altoona’s fans a chance to watch a team in position for its fourth straight playoff appearance

“I was just sitting out there with my daughter saying, ‘I hope you remember this - these will turn out to be good memories’” Leiper, the Curve manager, said

His team had just held off New Britain, 6-4, before 7,446 fans at BCB, and Leiper, who usually watches the postgame fireworks from the Curve dugout, sat in the infield grass along the first base line
His 6-year-old daughter, Eleni, and 4-year-old son, Jackson, nestled in his arms, the manager had to be loving his team’s possibilities with only a month left in the regular season

“It’s a great position to be in” he said

The Curve trail first-place Akron by 4-1/2 games in the Southern Division and hold a 9-1/2-game lead on Reading and Harrisburg for the wild-card playoff berth
Leiper skated around a question wondering if the R-Phils are the team to worry about, instead pointing out this:-
“We want to catch Akron”

The favorable home schedule from here on out makes that goal attainable

“It’s a huge advantage” outfielder Nyjer Morgan said
“You have the support of your hometown, and it just seems like everything is a lot smoother playing at home”

Must be, given the Curve’s 36-15 record at BCB, the best home mark in the Eastern League

The club just finished playing thirteen of sixteen games on the road, holding its own with an 8-8 record

Leiper called that the toughest stretch of the season and had a message for his players when they left Harrisburg on Thursday
“He said after the game - ‘We’re going home, boys, and we’re going to be home for a while’” Roneberg said

“What we just went through was a grind” Leiper said
“We were on the road a lot, and it was nice to come home today
Everybody’s mood was better, there was just more energy”

Being in familiar surroundings helps
“I love sleeping in my own bed” Roneberg said

Asked if it was worth going through the tough road schedule to get to this point, Roneberg said, “When you’re going through it, no, it’s not worth it
But when it’s all over now like it is, and you look at August and you’re home a lot, it should be fun”

Roneberg drove in three runs in Friday night’s win
He helped the Curve to a 3-0 first-inning lead by tripling home Morgan and Brian Bixler, then added an RBI single in the second that made it 5-2

Morgan and Bixler also had two hits and an RBI apiece, so the top three hitters in the lineup went a combined 6-for-12 with five RBIs and four runs

Milver Reyes was 3-for-4 for his first three-hit game of the season

The Curve scored all their runs off New Britain starter Errol Simonitsch (7-12) and rode seven solid innings from Wardell Starling for the victory
Starling (4-2) allowed three runs on seven hits with four strikeouts and no walks and has been sharp since coming up from Single-A Lynchburg, posting a 3.14 ERA in nine starts

“You’ve got a little smarter hitters in Double-A, they make adjustments, they take pitches and try to get ahead in the count” Starling said
“The main thing here is to get ahead of them and kind of outsmart them before they outsmart you”

Franklin Perez gave up a run in the eighth inning before Brandon Knight worked a scoreless ninth for his twenty-first save, moving within one of the Curve single-season record

Altoona’s bullpen has been superb for some time, but the job done by the starting rotation can’t be overlooked
Saturday’s starter, Jason Roach, has a 2.26 ERA, Landon Jacobsen leads the EL with twelve wins and has a 2.98 ERA, Ron Chiavacci has a 3.06 ERA and Mike Connolly can be as dominant as any of the others despite a 4.32 ERA

“Our starting staff helps out our bullpen” Starling said
“The starters usually go six or seven innings, which makes the bullpen only have to use one or two guys
It saves their arms, and they can go out there fresh”

Notes
Thompson injured
Former Curve OF Rich Thompson, now at Triple-A Indianapolis, will miss the rest of the season as he’s scheduled for surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder
Leiper said he hadn’t heard of any pending roster moves that might send a Curve outfielder to Triple-A
Thompson was hitting .280 with 22 RBIs and 16 steals at Indy

Brett Roneberg drove in three runs as the Altoona Curve held on for a 6-to-4 win over the New Britain Rock Cats in Eastern League action

Roneberg hit a triple in the first inning that drove in Nyjer Morgan and Brian Bixler for Altoona
He added an RBI single in the second

Morgan and Bixler drove in one run apiece with groundouts

Matt Tolbert and Felix Molina hit RBI doubles in the second inning to get New Britain to within 3-to-2, but the Curve scored twice in the bottom of the second to boost their lead

Tolbert added a run-scoring single in the sixth, and Doug Deeds drove in a run with a groundout in the eighth to close the gap to 6-to-4
But the Cats would get no closer

Altoona starter Wardell Starling got the win
He gave up three runs on seven hits in seven innings and struck out four

Rock Cats starter Errol Simonitsch was pulled after the fourth inning after giving up six runs on ten hits

Altoona (Double-A, 63-46) won, 6-4, at home against New Britain (Twins)

First baseman Brett Roneberg had two hits, including a two-run triple, and three RBI

Catcher Milver Reyes had a game-high three hits

Right-hander Wardell Starling (4-2) allowed three runs and struck out four in seven innings

Brett Roneberg drove in three runs in the first two innings as Altoona held on for a 6-4 victory over the visiting Rock Cats on Friday

Roneberg, who went 2-for-4, followed back-to-back singles by Nyjer Morgan and Brian Bixler in the first with a triple and scored on a double by Simon Pond

Roneberg's RBI single in the second gave the Curve a 5-2 lead

Milver Reyes snapped out of a 3-for-35 slump with three hits and Morgan scored twice for the Curve (62-47), who had lost four of their previous six games

Altoona starter Wardell Starling (4-2) gave up three runs on seven hits in seven innings
He struck out four and did not issue a walk

New Britain starter Errol Simonitsch (7-12) surrendered six runs on ten hits over four innings
He has lost his last two outings, allowing eleven runs in just 6-2/3 frames

Both Doug Deeds (2-for-4, RBI), and Kyle Geiger (2-for-4) had multi-hit games

Matt Tolbert hit an RBI double in the second and a run-scoring single in the sixth for the Rock Cats (47-62), who have dropped nine of their last twelve