The Result
Curve - 9 runs to 4
----------Fourteen innings

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

Brett's Position and the Batting Order
Playing - Designated hitter
Batting - #3
----------INJURED!!! - and came out of the game in the top of the fifth innings
----------Refer to "Brett's Third at-bat" below

At the end of the Game
2 hits from 3 at-bats - 2 x singles, 1 x run-driven-in

Brett's at-bats
First at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Bases empty - two down
Called strike
Ball - high
Called strike
Foul ball down the third base side
Ball - fast ball - low
"Roneberg hits that ball sharply and smacks it through the hole on the right side and the Curve now have a two out base runner"
Single to rightfield
Left stranded at the end of the innings
Second at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Runner at second base - one down
"Brett jumps on that pitch and hits it down the leftfield line ...... the fielder is over to get it and he picks it up on two hops but does not have a play and the runner from second base is coming in to score ...... Roneberg continues to drive in runs and now has seventeen runs-driven-in in his last fourteen games"
Single to leftfield - 1 x RBI
Out at second base on a double play hit by the following Curve batter
Third at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Runner at second base - two down
Ball - low and inside
Called strike
Called strike
Foul ball - down the left side
Ball
"There's a check swing flair and it's over the infield but the Rock Cats' shortstop is going back and he is able to make the catch for the final out of the innings"
Fly out to shortstop - F6

The commentator continued - "And Brett is down at home plate!!! ...... he was unable to run down the line after that hit ...... he appears to be holding his ankle ...... and he is still there and the Curve Manager and Trainer are now out at home plate and this could be a big blow for the Curve ...... he is being helped up now and looks to be walking okay and we will let you know what the outcome will be"
Brett rang within fifteen minutes!!!
Said his left ankle is swollen a fair bit ...... he is out of tonight's game and is in the training room having an ice treatment ...... no breaks, just a bad strain due to his cleats being caught up as he swung ...... will be a 'wait-and-see' on a 'day-to-day' basis

Heard during the Game

(#01) During Brett's first at-bat, the commentator mentioned:-
"Brett Roneberg comes in now with two outs in the top of the first innings ...... he is batting 26-for-73 at the plate during his last twenty-one games for an average of 0.356 during those games"
"Brett has also driven in sixteen runs during his last thirteen games and has sixty-four runs-driven-in for the season"
"Brett comes in to tonight's game with a batting average of 0.292, and is in tenth position in the Eastern League Top Ten in that category"

(#02) During Brett's second at-bat, the commentator said - "The are some big decisions to be made at the Curve soon, and one of them is the selection of the 'Most Valuable Player' ...... Brett would be a candidate for that honour, along with Vic Buttler and Simon Pond"

(#03) Following Brett's run-driven-in during his second at-bat, the commentator said - "That now gives Brett sixty-five runs-driven-in for the season, and he is now just one behind Simon Pond for the team lead ...... he is also in the Eastern League Top Ten in that category"

Email from Brett

Game Reports

Simon Pond started a five-run outburst in the top of the fourteenth inning with a go-ahead, two-run single and the Curve outlasted the New Britain Rock Cats, 9-4, in a 4 hour, 26 minute marathon Saturday night at New Britain Stadium

The victory ended a three-game losing streak and kept the Curve (66-50) a comfortable 6-1/2 games ahead of the third-place Reading Phillies in the race for the wild-card spot in the E.L. South

Tied at 4-4 entering the fourteenth, Altoona loaded the bases against reliever Dave Shinskie before Pond ripped the eventual game-winning single into center
The Curve added three more runs in the frame, including a two-run triple off the bat of Brandon Chaves

The Curve seemed to have the game clinched in the twelfth inning after scoring the go-ahead run on an RBI single by Dave Parrish

However, the Rock Cats plated the tying run in the bottom of the inning, when Trent Oeltjen was awarded home plate after his slide into third base forced a throw from Curve right fielder Rafael Alvarez to go into the third base dugout

Blaine Neal (1-0) picked up the win for the Curve, while Shinskie (0-2) was handed the loss after allowing all five Altoona runs in the fourteenth inning

New Britain came within one out of earning their second straight victory over the Curve, carrying a 3-2 lead into the top of the ninth inning
However, Rock Cats' third baseman Matt Moses, who knocked in six runs in New Britain's 9-2 rout on Friday, committed a throwing error on what would have been the final out of the game
On the play, Nyjer Morgan rolled a grounder to third, but Moses' throw was low to first baseman Doug Deeds and Brian Bixler alertly raced around third to score the tying run and send the game to extra innings

The ninth-inning rally took Curve starter Landon Jacobsen off the hook for the loss
The right-hander worked eight innings - the longest by any Curve starting pitcher this season - but walked a season-high six batters in allowing three runs on six hits

Altoona's fifteen hit attack was led by three-hit efforts by Morgan and Chaves, who knocked in three runs

Bixler belted a double to left in the sixth to extend his hitting streak to a current team-high ten straight games

The Curve and Rock Cats will play the rubber match of their three-game weekend series on Sunday afternoon at New Britain Stadium
Altoona will send lefty Mike Connolly (7-5, 4.29) to the mound in search of his second straight victory
New Britain will counter right-hander Kevin Slowey (3-3, 3.61), who is a graduate of Pittsburgh's Upper St. Clair High School

First pitch is set for 1.35pm

Simon Pond's two-run single sparked a five-run fourteenth inning as visiting Altoona topped New Britain, 9-4, on Saturday

With the bases loaded and no outs against reliever David Shinskie (0-2), Pond broke a 4-4 tie by singling in Nyjer Morgan and Vic Buttler
After David Parrish was hit by a pitch, Brian Bixler's sacrifice fly to right field plated Ray Sadler
Brandon Chaves, who had with three hits and three RBIs, capped the frame with a two-run triple

Morgan went 3-for-6 with three runs scored for the Curve (66-50), while Parrish chipped in two hits and scored twice

Reliever Blaine Neal (1-0) picked up the win, despite allowing the Rock Cats to tie the score at 4-4 in the twelfth on Doug Deeds' single and a throwing error by right fielder Rafael Alvarez
The 28-year-old right-hander was charged with an unearned run on two hits and a walk with one strikeout in two innings

Matt Peterson retired the side in the fourteenth

Altoona starter Landon Jacobsen pitched a season-high eight innings, surrendering three runs on six hits and six walks with five strikeouts

Denard Span had two hits, two RBIs and a run scored for New Britain (51-65), while Felix Molina and Trent Oeltjen collected three hits apiece

Shinskie surrendered six runs on five hits and three walks with two strikeouts in three innings

Altoona scored five runs in the fourteenth inning off David Shinskie (0-2) to hand the Rock Cats a heart breaking 9-5 loss

With two outs in the top of the ninth and the Rock Cats ahead 3-2, Altoona's Nyjer Morgan (3-6, 3 R) hit a grounder to third baseman Matt Moses and reached base safely on a throwing error by Moses
Brian Bixler, who reached base after being hit by a pitch by Julio DePaula (3 IP, 2 H, 1 R), scored from third on the error to tie the game 3-3

The Curve struck again in the top of the twelfth inning on David Parrish's RBI single for a 4-3 lead

The Rock Cats fired back in the bottom half of the inning on Doug Deed's RBI single that scored Trent Oeltjen

The Rock Cats jumped out to an early 1-0 lead on Oeltjen's RBI triple that scored Denard Span

Altoona tied the game on Brandon Chaves' RBI single in the second and went ahead on Brett Roneberg's RBI single in the third

In the bottom of the fourth, Span delivered a bases-loaded two-run single to regain the lead, 3-2

For the Rock Cats, starter Nick Blackburn lasted four innings (5 H, 2 ER)

Justin Olson fired three shutout innings and Tristan Crawford added a scoreless eighth to keep the Rock Cats ahead

Altoona starter Landon Jacobsen tossed eight solid innings, allowing six hits and three runs, although, he walked six batters

Brandon Chaves was 3-for-6 with 3 RBI for the Curve

The first time New Britain Rock Cats right-hander David Shinskie faced veteran Simon Pond in extra innings he walked him intentionally
The second time, he didn't have that luxury

Pond pounded a bases-loaded single through a drawn-in infield in the top of the fourteenth inning Saturday night to highlight a five-run rally that carried the Altoona Curve to a 9-4 win over the Rock Cats before a sellout crowd of 6,894 at New Britain Stadium

Shinskie (0-2), who joined the Rock Cats from low Class A Beloit on Wednesday, was touched for a bunt single by leadoff hitter Nyjer Morgan (3-for-6, 3 runs)
Walks to Vic Buttler and Ray Sadler then loaded the bases
Pond, who was a Rock Cat nemesis during his days with the New Haven Ravens, drilled a two-run single through the middle
Brian Bixler contributed a sacrifice fly and Brandon Chaves (3-for-6, 3 RBI) rifled a two-run triple to the left-field corner to leave New Britain (51-65) in a five-run hole

"We tried to get Shinskie in a situation where he could get some confidence going but every time he comes in there, it's a pressure-packed moment" Rock Cats manager Riccardo Ingram said
"He's breaking in right
He threw the ball OK
He may have been tied in his third inning of work"

Shinskie, 22, was reached for three runs on four hits in an inning against Erie Thursday

Matt Peterson, Altoona's fifth pitcher, retired the Rock Cats in order in the home fourteenth

Blaine Neal (1-0), who pitched in one-hundred-and-thirteen major league games with four clubs including last year with the Red Sox, tossed two innings to gain the win

"We had several chances to win the ballgame" said Ingram, whose team went 1-for-15 with runners in scoring position
"We let it get away"

The teams swapped runs in the twelfth inning
Morgan led off the frame against Shinskie with a bunt single and took second on Buttler's sacrifice
Shinskie struck out Sadler and walked the left-handed hitting Pond intentionally
David Parrish's sizzling one-hop grounder whizzed by Matt Moses to give the Curve (66-50) a 4-3 lead
The Rock Cats knotted it up once again in the home half
With Trent Oeltjen (3-for-7) on first, Doug Deeds lined a single to right
Right fielder Rafael Alvarez, a Rock Cat in 1997 and 2000, tried to gun down Oeltjen at third but the ball bounced into the dugout and the runner was awarded home plate

Altoona starter Landon Jacobsen, foiled in his attempt to tie Akron's Adam Miller for the EL lead in wins (13), began the game by walking Denard Span
Oeltjen sliced a one-out triple into the left-field corner
Deeds and Moses walked to load the bases but Danny Matienzo bounced into an inning-ending double play on the first pitch

Ingram could only wonder what might have been
"We were having good at-bats and I thought we had him there" Ingram said
"Then we let him up
Just one pitch
We had a ground ball double play, and we let him off the hook
That's not what you do against Jacobsen"

Altoona was quick to even things up in the second
Parrish, son of former big-league catcher Lance Parrish, ripped a leadoff double and took second on a groundout
With two out, spot starter Nick Blackburn had Chaves down 0-2 but hung a changeup and yielded a run-scoring single

The Curve took a 2-1 lead in the second
Morgan singled, swiped second and scored on a one-out single by Brett Roneberg

The Rock Cats regained the lead in the fourth, 3-2, when Span rifled a single to center with the bases loaded and two out

Justin Olson tossed three scoreless frames and Tristan Crawford pitched around a one-out double by pinch-hitter Ray Sadler in the eighth

New Britain's fourth pitcher, Julio DePaula, was a heartbeat from closing it out in the top of the ninth
The Curve had runners on first and second with two out when Moses fielded Nyjer Morgan's grounder at third and bounced it in the dirt at first
Bixler scored from second to tie the game

The game featured sparkling defensive plays on both sides
Morgan made a game-saver off the bat of Jose Morales in the bottom of the ninth
Deeds' work at first base was a lifesaver for the Rock Cats

Cat's Tales
While the Rock Cats won't equal last year's total attendance of 337,687, they are drawing 4,980 per game, while last year's average was 4,894
The sellout was the sixteenth overall