The Result
Baysox - 3 runs to 2

The Curve - Year-to-Date
75 won and 64 lost

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

At the end of the Game
0 hit from 3 at-bats - 1 x walk, 1 x run scored, 1 x grounded-into-a-double-play, 1 x stolen base

Brett's at-bats
First at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Led off the innings
Ball - high
Foul ball - deep down the leftfield line
Ball - high
Foul ball - back
Ball - high and wide
Ball - high
Walk
Stolen base - "and Brett is off on the pitch!!! ...... and he is in to second base safely without a throw!!! ...... Brett now has nine stolen bases for the season ...... and it's a good sign that Brett is running, as it shows that his ankle is now okay and he is ready for the playoffs"
Scored on a hit
Second at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Runners at first and third base - one down
Ball - just low and wide
Ball - downstairs
Other pitches - not broadcasted ???
"There's a ground ball back to the mound and it's nicely speared by the pitcher who throws on to second base for the first out and the relay to first base is in time for the inning ending double play"
Ground out to the pitcher and into a double play - 1 to 6 to 3
Third at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Runners at first and third base - two down
Ball - outside
"That's a hard hit ground ball but straight at the Baysox first-baseman who handles it and takes it to the bag himself for the final out of the innings"
Ground out to first base - PO3
Fourth at-bat
Lefthanded pitcher
Led off the innings
Foul ball
Called strike - on the outside corner
Ball - outside
Foul ball - tipped at the plate
Foul ball - roller
"That's a slow roller on the diamond and the shortstop makes a nice play to get Roneberg at first base for the first out of the innings"
Ground out to shortstop - 6 to 3

Heard during the Game

(#01) As Brett came in for his first at-bat, the commentator mentioned - "Brett comes in to tonight's game with a batting average of 0.305 which is second best in the Eastern League in that category and is one of just four players who have an average of better than three hundred ...... and unless something very dramatic happens today, he will finish over '300' for the season ...... he is also fourth in the League in on-base-percentage with a mark of 0.380"

(#02) In the top of the eighth inning, the Baysox were leading three runs to two ...... the bases were empty and it was one down ...... the next batter lined the ball out into leftfield ...... and the commentator said - "It looked like Roneberg misplayed that ball ...... it is one of the hardest to play in baseball and it bounced just in front of him and went between his legs and all the way to the wall ...... it is ruled a double and the runner is now standing on second base and the Baysox have an insurance run in scoring position"
......but there was no further scoring in the innings!!! - no damage!!!

Email from Brett

Game Reports

The Curve wrapped up their 2006 regular season schedule with a 3-2 loss to the Bowie Baysox on Monday night at Blair County Ballpark

A Labor Day crowd of nearly 6,000 fans was on hand as the Curve played their final game before opening up a playoff series against the Akron Aeros on Wednesday

Altoona grabbed an early 1-0 advantage, but surrendered three runs in the fifth inning to the Baysox on back-to-back doubles and never regained the lead

The Curve collected the first run of the game in the second inning when Brett Roneberg scored from second on a Simon Pond double after he walked and stole second base

Before the game, Roneberg was awarded the team’s 'Most Valuable Player' Award and finished the regular season with a .302 batting average, ten home runs and seventy-four RBI

Bowie took the lead for good in the fifth inning, scoring twice on a double by Bryan Bass that plated Raul Chavez and Jason Maxey
The Baysox would tack on one more tally in the inning when Rayner Bautista drove in Bass from third with his own two-bagger

Brian Finch pitched the first seven innings for Bowie, holding the Curve to just two runs on seven hits for his sixth victory of the year

Marino Salas pitched the ninth inning to nail down his second save in as many nights

Wardell Starling pitched for the Curve and took the loss, surrendering three runs in six innings on five hits and two walks
In fifteen starts with Altoona this season, Starling allowed more than three earned runs only once, but finished with a 6-5 record

Altoona would score once in the sixth after threatening in the third and fifth frames
Ray Sadler ripped a triple off the wall in centerfield with two outs in the sixth and scored when Brandon Chaves tripled off the first base bag

Mike Connolly made his first relief appearance of the year, pitching a perfect seventh inning out of the bullpen

Chris Hernandez and Jorge Vasquez combined with Connolly to hold the Baysox to just one hit over the final three innings

Altoona will host the division champion Akron Aeros (AA/Cleveland Indians) in Games Three and Four of the E.L. Divisional Playoff Round on Friday, September 8th and Saturday, September 9th at Blair County Ballpark
Both games will start at 7.05pm

Brian Finch pitched seven strong innings as visiting Bowie edged Altoona, 3-2, in Monday's regular season finale

Finch (6-12) won for the first time since Aug. 13, giving up two runs on seven hits with one strikeout and three walks

Jason Pearson gave up a single in a scoreless eighth and Marino Salas pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to secure his nineteenth save and the Baysox's fourth straight win

Bowie (67-74) trailed, 1-0, but came back with three runs in the fifth
Raul Chavez singled and Jason Maxey walked with one out
Bryan Bass followed with a two-run double to center field and scored on Rayner Bautista's RBI double

Curve starter Wardell Starling (6-5) surrendered three runs on five hits and two walks in six innings

Simon Pond delivered an RBI double in the second for Altoona (75-64)

In the sixth, Ray Sadler tripled and came home on Brandon Chaves' triple

Javier Guzman and Brian Bixler chipped in two hits apiece for the Curve

The Bowie Baysox ended their season on a high note, by sweeping three games from the Altoona Curve on Monday evening at Blair County Ballpark by the score of 4-2

RHP Brian Finch got the win in the Baysox' final game while Marino Salas picked up the final save, his nineteenth of the season

For the first time in the series the Curve scored first on Simon Pond's RBI double in the bottom of the second

The Baysox got all the runs they would need with three in the fifth inning off Curve starter Wardell Starling
With one out, Raúl Chavez singled into center field
Jason Maxey, playing in just his third game of the season, drew a pinch-hit walk to put two runners on for Brian Bass
The third sacker roped a two-run double into center field and advanced to third on a Curve error
Rayner Bautista immediately followed Bass with a double of his own, his twenty-fifth of the year, allowing Bass to score from third with the final run of the inning

Finch gave up a second run to the home team in the bottom half of the sixth on back-to-back triples by Ray Sadler and Brandon Chaves
Finch then induced Milver Reyes to ground out, stranding the tying run at third

Finch returned for the bottom of the seventh and retired the side in order

Jason Pearson and Salas each tossed one shutout frame to preserve the Baysox sixty-seventh win of the 2006 season

The Baysox end the year with a 34-37 record at Prince George's Stadium and 33-37 on the road for a total record of 67-74

The Curve had all the momentum in the world with four straight wins to end the regular season in 2005 and still couldn’t beat Akron in the playoffs
Maybe what’s taken place this season will be the unorthodox springboard to help the franchise finally get over the hump against the Aeros

The Curve dropped a 3-2 decision to Bowie on Monday night at Blair County Ballpark to end the regular season with four straight losses

Still, nobody in Altoona’s camp seems overly concerned about the untimely slump, insisting the four losses will be a distant memory come Wednesday’s playoff opener in Akron

“Everything’s different in the playoffs” Curve outfielder Brett Roneberg said
“You have a fresh start going into Wednesday, both teams do, and we’ve played them enough to know what to expect”

Roneberg may not have expected the hardware he received prior to Monday’s finale
A sweet-swinging, steady force in the middle of the lineup, he was awarded the Ron Fiochetta Trophy as the team's 'Most Valuable Player'
Roneberg hit .303 with 10 homers, 74 RBIs and 63 runs to earn the award

The Curve had several worthy MVP candidates, most notably outfielder Vic Buttler (.292, 5 HRs, 51 RBIs, now in Triple-A), but Roneberg’s consistency won him the honor

“From the time he came up until tonight, he never went in a slump and he always put together good at-bats” manager Tim Leiper said
“He’s just a real solid guy in the middle of your lineup and a guy you need”

Roneberg’s mantle is filled with impressive awards, including a Silver Medal for Australia in the 2004 Olympics and a team MVP honor with Portland in 2004

“It’s an honor to win the award, but we come here to win, and hopefully we’ll have a good series against Akron and then whoever’s next” Roneberg said

The Curve split up their Pitcher of the Year award for the first time, honoring two guys who put together strong seasons
Lefty Shane Youman (7-2, team record 1.51 ERA, now in Triple-A) and righty Landon Jacobsen (14-9, 3.21 ERA, second in EL in wins, fifth in ERA) were named 'co-Pitchers of the Year'

“Solid, didn’t miss a start” Leiper said of Jacobsen
“He’s just a guy that you know every time when you go out there and play behind him you’re going to have a chance to win the game”

The Curve coaching staff waited until Monday to finalize the starting rotation for the playoff series
Right-hander Jason Roach will get the ball in Wednesday’s opener, followed by lefty Josh Shortslef in Game Two, Jacobsen in Game Three Friday night at BCB and righty Wardell Starling in Game Four Saturday at BCB
No determination has been made about the starter for Game Five, if it goes that far, though lefty Mike Connolly is a candidate

Roach (6-7, 3.65) has the tough task of facing Akron’s Adam Miller (15-6, 2.75), the EL Pitcher of the Year and wins leader, in Game One
“It’s a real good challenge - I’m looking forward to it” Roach said
“I think it would be huge for us to beat him in that first game
We need that momentum”

Roach has lost his last five starts and has a 7.27 ERA in those games
He also gave up five runs in six innings against Akron on Thursday, losing to Miller, who allowed two runs - one earned - in six innings
“We just threw against each other the other night, and I didn’t throw the ball that good, so obviously I’m looking for a chance to redeem myself” Roach said

Leiper doesn’t lack for confidence in any of his players, and he believes Roach can help the team beat Miller on Wednesday
“Absolutely” Leiper said
“We’ve beaten Adam Miller in the past, and the biggest thing is I know Roach is going to keep us in the game
He’s going to keep the ball down, he knows those hitters, he controls the running game, does the little things to help you win"

The Curve’s four-game winning streak to end last season knocked Bowie out of the playoffs, and the Baysox turned the tides with three straight wins over Altoona to end this year

Bowie scored all three runs in the fifth inning Monday off Starling (6-5), with Bryan Bass’ two-run double doing the most damage

Simon Pond’s RBI double had given Altoona a 1-0 lead in the second, and back-to-back triples by Ray Sadler and Brandon Chaves in the sixth produced the Curve’s final run

Baysox starter Brian Finch (6-12) worked seven innings for the win, and Marino Salas closed it out in the ninth for his inieteenth save

The game drew 5,998 fans to Blair County Ballpark, setting the Curve’s final attendance figure at 365,407 over 66 home dates
That averages out to 5,536 fans per game, up from last year’s mark of 5,496

The Curve were able to set up their pitching staff and get some players rested over the past few days in preparation for the playoffs

The games resulted in losses, but Leiper said the team continued to play well despite throwing out some different looks
“It’s always better to win than to lose” the manager noted, “but does it mean anything come Wednesday night? Absolutely not"

Roster move
Outfielder Nyjer Morgan, on the disabled list with a hamstring injury, remains a question mark for the start of the playoff series
Morgan’s presence would boost the Curve’s speed and outfield defense, and his availability won’t be decided until Wednesday
“He ran today and was a lot better” Leiper said
“He took batting practice today, that was good
We’re really going to go day-by-day and see how he feels”

Roster move
The Curve received two pitchers from Single-A Lynchburg and added them to the roster
Lefty Kyle Bloom went 7-8 with a 4.30 ERA in 25 starts for the Hillcats, while righty Yoann Torrealba was 6-6 with a 4.01 ERA in 43 games (three starts)
Both could be used if needed in the playoffs
Righty Matt Peterson and lefty Dave Davidson were removed from the Curve roster and added to Lynchburg’s roster
Both could be activated again at some point during the playoffs

More Awards
Utility man Brandon Chaves received the Curve’s 'Unsung Hero' Award for his versatility and clutch play
Outfielder Ray Sadler received 'The King of Swing' Award for most home runs on the team (15)