The Result
Aeros - 6 runs to 2

The Curve - Year-to-Date
12 wins and 13 losses

Brett's Position and the Batting Order
Playing - Leftfield
Batting - #2

Brett's at-bats
First plate appearance
Lefthanded pitcher
Bases empty - one down
Ball - downstairs
Ball - inside
Ball - a bit high
Called strike - "And Brett was taking all the way there"
Called strike - "That pitch just clipped the outside corner"
Foul ball
Foul ball - back into the grandstands
"Brett drives that ball well into the gap in leftfield!!! ... the fielder is going back but it's over his head!!! ... and it's bounces and the ball goes over the wall!!! ... Roneberg again shows his power to the opposite field and has a ground rule double giving the Curve a runner in scoring position here in the first innings" ------(see the notes below in the "Heard during the Game" section)
Double to left-centrefield
Left stranded at the end of the innings
NOTE - click here to see a photo of Brett just after he smacked the double to the gap in leftfield!!!
Second plate appearance
Lefthanded pitcher
Bases empty - two down
Ball - outside
Foul ball - back into the seats
Called strike - fast ball
Ball - "Brett checked his swing on a ball that was in the dirt"
Ball
Ball - down and in - "And after being down 1ball-2strikes, Brett was given three pitches well out of the zone"
Walk
Left stranded at the end of the innings
Third plate appearance
Lefthanded pitcher
Runners at first and second base - two down
Ball
Ball
Called strike
Swing and a miss
Ball
Ball
Walk
Left stranded at the end of the innings
Fourth plate appearance
Lefthanded pitcher
Runner at first base - none down
Ball - fast ball - outside
Called strike - fast ball - 86mph
Ball - breaking ball - outside
Ball - fast ball - low
"Here comes the 3balls-1strike pitch ... and it's driven back over the pitcher's head and out into centrefield and Brett has his second hit of the night with a strong single to centrefield"
Single to centrefield
Advanced to second base on a hit
Advanced to third base on a double play hit
Left stranded at the end of the innings

At the end of the Game
2 hits from 2 at-bats - double, single, 2 x walks

Heard during the game

(01) After Brett's double in his first at-bat, the commentator said - "We mentioned last night that when Brett is going good, he has that great ability to drive the ball into the left-centrefield gap ... and that is not an easy thing to do, especially when it is a "lefty-lefty" match up like it is here in tonight's game ... he did exactly that right there in that at-bat"

The commentator continued - "Our guest in the Pre-game Show was the Curve's Hitting Coach, Brandon Moore ... he discussed the general aspects of the Curve lineup facing lefthanded pitching, and he partically mentioned Brett ... he said that although Roneberg's batting avaerage is down a bit from last season, it is not because he is not hitting the ball hard ... because he is!!! ... Brandon is known for his charting of players, and he said that one of the records they keep is 'hard-hit-balls' and he mentioned that Brett is easily leading the team in this category"

Email from Brett

Game Reports

The Akron Aeros used a second-inning Jordan Brown home run to ignite an eleven-hit attack as they cruised to a 6-2 win over the Curve in game two of a three-game series

Brown's homer to right-field came off of Curve starter Yoslan Herrera to lead off the second inning and gave the Aeros the lead at 1-0

The Aeros made it 2-0 with another run off Herrera in the third inning
Argenis Reyes led off the inning with a single
Herrera retired the next two batters, but walked Rodney Choy Foo to push Reyes to second base
He would score from there on a Jordan Brown single to up the lead to two runs

In the third, the Curve offered their only resistance against Aeros' starter Aaron Laffey as Andrew McCutchen belted his first home run of the year off a light-pole in left-field to cut the Aeros to 2-1

Laffey recovered and left the ballgame after five innings in which he allowed just one earned run on two base hits
Laffey picked up the win to improve to (4-0) on the year

The Aeros picked up a pair of insurance runs off of Curve reliever Mike Nannini in the sixth inning
Pat Osborn led off the inning with a single
He was forced at second base by Reyes, who later scored on a Trevor Crowe double
Asdrubal Cabrera then singled home Crowe for a 5-1 lead

The Curve's best chance came in the eighth inning with Rich Rundles on in relief for Akron
Three consecutive singles to start the inning loaded the bases with nobody out, but Steven Pearce bounced into a double-play
Andrew McCutchen did score on the play to make it a 5-2 game, but Neil Walker then bounced out to end the threat
It was Walker's last at-bat of the ballgame and brought to an end his 13-game on-base streak and seven-game hit streak

The Aeros scored an unearned run in the ninth off of Romulo Sanchez to cap the scoring

With the win, the Aeros (14-11) moved back to two full games ahead of the Curve (12-13) in the Southern Division standings

The series will be decided tomorrow at 3.05pm
RHP Kip Bouknight (2-0, 2.77) will make the start for Altoona against LHP Scott Lewis (0-1, 3.57)

Aaron Laffey scattered four hits over five innings to stay unbeaten as Akron posted a 6-2 victory over host Altoona on Saturday

Laffey (4-0) allowed one run, a solo homer to Andrew McCutchen in the third, while walking five and striking out four
The 22-year-old left-hander, who lowered his ERA to 2.25, has won four consecutive starts since a no-decision against the Curve (12-13) in his season debut on April 11

Mariano Gomez struck out one in two perfect innings before Rich Rundles gave up a run on three hits in the eighth

Jake Dittler retired three straight batters on groundouts in the ninth as the Aeros (14-11) improved to 7-6 on the road

Jordan Brown went 3-for-5 with two RBIs to lead Akron
He belted his third homer of the year, a solo shot in the second, to make it 2-0
The 23-year-old first baseman also drove in a run in the fifth on a grounder that was misplayed by second baseman Taber Lee

Trevor Crowe and Asdrubal Cabrera each contributed two hits and an RBI for the winners

Curve starter Yoslan Herrera (0-3) pitched five innings, giving up three runs - two earned - on six hits and four walks while striking out four

The Curve celebrated Cinco de Mayo by bringing in TV star Erik Estrada, but Akron’s effective pitching and aggressive baserunning crashed the party Saturday night

Aeros lefty Aaron Laffey walked five but allowed only a run on two hits over five innings, while Akron was aggressive as usual on the bases with four steals
It all added up to a 6-2 win before 5,124 fans at Blair County Ballpark on a night devoid of festivity for the home team

Akron’s baserunning put the Curve on their heels defensively
In addition to the steals, the Aeros scored on a passed ball, and Asdrubal Cabrera raced home from second on an error by second baseman Taber Lee
Akron is tied for tops in the Eastern League with 31 steals, that, after leading the circuit by a wide margin a year ago (176 to second-place New Britain’s 134)

“That’s huge” Bogar said of his team’s basestealing ability
“Any time a defense is not comfortable, they never know when you’re gonna do something, when you’re gonna go
They have to play the game perfectly to keep you from scoring”

Estrada, who returned after visiting BCB for the Curve’s Retro Celebrity Series a year ago, signed autographs until the lines were gone
He says his approachable, down-to-earth demeanor stems from selling snow cones on the streets of Harlem as a 5-year-old
“I don’t understand when celebrities get chapped when people come up to them” the former “CHiPs” star said of his affection for fans
“It only takes 20 seconds or less to sign an autograph, give a hug, take a picture
It’s a piece of cake”

Altoona continued to struggle throwing runners out
The Curve’s 31 steals allowed rank 10th out of 12 teams in the EL

So when does Curve manager Tim Leiper become concerned?
“Never” he said
“Never
I don’t think that factored into anything, but it’s something we have to get better at”

Laffey (4-0), pitching before roughly 50 friends and family members from his hometown of Cumberland, Md., permitted only two free passes in 23 innings coming into Saturday’s start
“He was wild, but he was effectively wild” Leiper said
“When he did throw strikes, he threw them on the corners and was able to stay out of trouble”

The lefty, whose ERA is 2.25, used his sinker to induce eight groundball outs

“If he gets himself in trouble, he can get out of it with that pitch” Bogar said

One of the positives for the Curve was that Andrew McCutchen enjoyed his first multi-hit game since April 23
He put Altoona on the board by ripping a Laffey offering over a sign in left field noting Adam Hyzdu’s retired number for his first home run of the year
McCutchen also had a single and a walk

“It feels good to get the first homer out of the way” McCutchen, who was 5-for-42 since his last multi-hit game 10 outings ago, said
“The first hit, home run, get all those first things out of the way”

Curve starter Yoslan Herrera (0-3) allowed three runs - two earned - on six hits and four walks over five innings for the loss
He did lower his ERA by almost a full run (8.05 to 7.13)

Altoona has a chance to win the series this afternoon when Kip Bouknight takes the mound

“Our goal is to win every series” Leiper said
“That’s all we can ask for
If we win two of three in the division, we’re doing something good”

Despite the struggles, Altoona sits only a game under .500 and two games back of division-leader Akron

“That’s the funny thing” McCutchen said
“We’re not playing our best right now, but we’re still up there
Just like my batting will come around, getting these wins will come around also"