The Curve will open the 2007 season on the road tomorrow evening against the Erie SeaWolves (AA/Tigers) at Jerry Uht Park in Erie, PA
First pitch is set for 6.35pm

Here are a few bits of information the day prior to the Season Opener

Roster

The Curve's 24-man active roster will be set Thursday morning

Opening Week Schedule

The Curve will play their first six games on the road before returning home for the 2007 Home Opener at Blair County Ballpark next Thursday, April 12
Here is the schedule for the opening road trip
----------Thursday @ Erie, 6.35pm
----------Friday @ Erie, 6.35pm
----------Saturday @ Erie, 6.35pm
----------Sunday - Off Day
----------Monday @ Akron, 7.05pm
----------Tuesday @ Akron, 7.05pm
----------Wednesday @ Akron, 10.35am

Pitching Matchups

The Curve's five-man starting rotation will consist of Josh Shortslef, Wardell Starling, Yoslan Herrera, Kip Bouknight and Luis Munoz
Here are the scheduled pitching matchups for the road trip
----------Thursday @ Erie - LHP Josh Shortslef v Erie RHP Dallas Trahern
----------Friday @ Erie - RHP Wardell Starling v Erie RHP Jair Jurrjens
----------Saturday @ Erie - RHP Yoslan Herrera v Erie RHP Eulogio de la Cruz
----------Monday @ Akron - RHP Kip Bouknight v Akron LHP Shawn Nottingham
----------Tuesday @ Akron - RHP Luis Munoz v Akron LHP Chuck Lofgren
----------Wednesday @ Akron - LHP Josh Shortslef v Akron RHP J.D. Martin
RHP Wardell Starling is scheduled to start the Home Opener April 12 v Reading

More Assorted Opening Day Tidbits

The Curve - enter the 2007 campaign as the only E.L. franchise to have reached post-season play in each of the past four seasons - posted a 75-64 (.540) record in 2006 and reached the playoffs as a wild-card before losing a five-game series to Akron (Indians) - open the season with 18 of 28 players who spent all or part of the 2006 season in Altoona
Another 'Leip' Year - Curve manager Tim Leiper returns for his second season as the Curve bench boss after leading the club to a 75-64 record and a fourth straight trip to the E.L. playoffs - the 40-year old is in his eighth season as a minor league manager, having posted a career mark of 479-431 (.526) - Leiper, who is in his third season in the Pirates' organization, previously managed in the Expos (2000-02), Red Sox (2003) and Orioles (2004) systems - he's re-joined on the Curve bench by pitching coach Ray Searage and hitting coach Brandon Moore
Prospect Laden - the Curve's Opening Day roster features three of the top four Pirates' minor league prospects according to Baseball America - the top two rated prospects, OF Andrew McCutchen and 3B Neil Walker, each return to the Curve after spending the final three weeks of the 2006 campaign in Altoona - #4 prospect Yoslan Herrera, who was signed by the Pirates as a free agent after defecting from Cuba, is scheduled to make his United States pitching debut Saturday against Erie
All Stars Return - two Curve Eastern League All-Stars return to open the 2007 season - OF Brett Roneberg, who was named the MVP of the 2006 E.L. All-Star Game, returns for his third season in a Curve uniform (2003, 2006-07) while OF Vic Buttler, who was a member of the league's post-season All-Star squad last year, also returns after finishing the 2006 campaign at Triple-A Indianapolis - in addition to the returns of Roneberg and Buttler, the Curve roster also features 2006 E.L. All-Star Game winning pitcher Kip Bouknight (Harrisburg) and post-season All-Star and league RBI champion Randy Ruiz (Trenton) - Ruiz was also an E.L. post-season All-Star in 2005 with Reading after winning the league batting title (.349)
Startin' Slow On The Road - the Curve will attempt to win their first-ever road Season Opener Thursday against Erie at Jerry Uht Park - in four previous openers played on the road, Altoona has fallen short in each contest (1999 @ Reading, 2001 @ Erie, 2003 @ Reading, 2005 @ Reading) - by contrast, in Season Openers played at Blair County Ballpark, the Curve are a perfect 4-0

Radio and Web Cast Information

All 2007 Altoona Curve games can be heard live on Real Oldies 93.5 FM WHPA in Altoona and the Curve Radio Network
In addition, all games are streamed live at - http://www.altoonacurve.com/
Jason Dambach returns for his ninth season as a member of the Curve broadcast team and will be joined in the booth this season by Jon Laaser