The Result
Curve - 13 runs to 6

----------......and the Curve picked up 19 hits during the game!!!

The Curve - Year-to-Date
28 wins and 28 losses

Brett's Position and the Batting Order
Playing - Designated hitter
Batting - #3

Brett's at-bats
First plate appearance
Righthanded pitcher
Runner at first base - none down
"There's a roller towards shortstop and the play is made at second base and there is no relay throw ... Roneberg is safe at first base on a 6-to-4 fielder's choice play"
Stolen base - "The runner is going!!! ... and the pitch is a strike and the throw to second base is not in time and Roneberg has his fourth stolen base of the season"
Scored on a hit
Second plate appearance
Righthanded pitcher
Led off the innings
Ball - downstairs
Ball - fast ball - outside
Ball
Called strike
Swing and a miss
"Here comes the full count pitch ... and Roneberg swings and misses at another very good change up ... the Rock Cats' pitcher Brad Baker completely fooled a veteran hitter with that pitch that would have been around 70mph"
Strike out
Third plate appearance
Lefthanded pitcher
Runners at first and second base - one down
Ball - breaking ball - inside
Ball
Ball
Ball - "The new Rock Cats' pitcher comes into the game and walks Roneberg on four straight pitches"
Walk
Scored on a bases clearing double by the next Curve hitter
Fourth plate appearance
Lefthanded pitcher
Runners at first and third base - two down
Ball - curve ball - stays high
Ball
Swing and a miss
Ball - low
Ball
Walk
Advanced to second base on a hit
Scored on a hit
Fifth plate appearance
Lefthanded pitcher
Led off the innings
Ball - high
"Brett bounces that one back over the mound and into centrefield for his first hit of the night"
Single to centrefield
Advanced to second base on a hit
Advanced to third base on a hit
Scored on a ground ball/error play
Sixth plate appearance
Righthanded pitcher
Runner at first base - one down
"Roneberg hits that sharply into leftfield but the fielder makes a great sliding catch for the second out of the innings"
Line out to leftfield - F7

At the end of the Game
1 hit from 4 at-bats - single, 4 x runs scored, 2 x walks, 1 x strike out, 1 x stolen base

Heard during the game

(01) After Brett scored for the fourth time following his fifth plate appearance, the commentator said - "Brett has now scored four times in the ballgame and that ties a franchise record"
NOTE - there are more details in three of the game reports below

Email from Brett

Game Reports

Steven Pearce's five runs batted in highlighted the Curve's most prolific offensive game of the season as they blitzed the New Britain Rock Cats, 13-6, to take the series finale from New Britain Stadium

Pearce and Neil Walker each had four hits, Brett Roneberg tied the franchise record by scoring four runs and Jason Bowers set new franchise records by walking five times and reaching base six times

All told, Altoona collected a season-high 13 runs and 19 hits

The onslaught began immediately against Rock Cats' starter Brad Baker in the top of the first inning
Bowers led off with a triple and scored on an Andrew McCutchen single as the Curve grabbed the lead for the first time, 1-0
Two batters later, Walker doubled to score a second Curve run
Walker then scored on a double for Adam Boeve and Altoona led, 3-0

The run-support was a refreshing change for Curve starter Josh Shortslef
Shortslef (1-6) was successful as he attempted to avoid equalling the worst start for a starting pitcher in franchise history
The left-hander worked six innings allowing three earned runs to collect his first win of the season

The Rock Cats forced a run across in the second inning, but the Curve put the game away with another outburst in the fourth
Brandon Chaves singled to start the inning and stole second base
Milver Reyes, who would tally three hits on the day, sacrificed Chaves to third
Bowers then walked and McCutchen reached on an error to score Chaves
Baker was removed the ballgame in favor of Jay Sawatski who promptly walked Brett Roneberg to load the bases
Pearce followed with a bases-clearing double to give the Curve a 7-1 advantage
Another New Britain error allowed another Curve run to score and Altoona led, 8-1

Brandon Roberts pulled the Rock Cats to within five runs in the bottom of the inning with a two-run single off of Shortslef

The Curve again responded in their next at-bat
With Sawatski still in the game, the Curve scored three more times to run the lead to 11-3
Again it was Pearce who did the most damage, singling home both Reyes and McCutchen
Walker added his second double of the ballgame to score Pearce and the Curve led, 11-3

The Rock Cats scored their fourth run off of Shortslef in the bottom of the inning, but the Curve tacked on two more runs and capped their scoring in the seventh against Brian Forystek

Jason Roach earned his first save of the season, allowing a pair of New Britain runs over three innings of relief to finish the ballgame

Baker (2-3) allowed six runs and was saddled with the loss for New Britain

The Curve also established a new franchise record for men left on base with 16 in the game, but scored more than enough runs to help them win the series by taking two-of-three games from the Rock Cats in their only visit to New Britain Stadium this season

The team will travel now travel to Harrisburg to open a three-game series with the Senators beginning Friday night at 6.35pm
RHP Kip Bouknight (5-2, 3.34) will make the start for Altoona against RHP Dan Foli (0-0, 8.78) for the Senators

Steven Pearce and Neil Walker led the Curve's 19-hit attack as Altoona pummeled host New Britain, 13-6, on Thursday afternoon

Altoona (28-28) fell just two hits shy of matching their franchise record of 21, which was set on May 1, 2001

Jason Bowers, who entered the game with just 11 walks over 112 at-bats, established a club record by drawing five walks in the ballgame

Brett Roneberg tied a franchise mark with four runs scored, becoming the first Curve player to accomplish the feat since current Pittsburgh Pirate Rajai Davis did so against Akron on April 28, 2005

Pearce and Walker were the game's true standouts, however

Pearce went 4-for-5 and tied his career-high by driving in five runs
The 24-year-old laced a three-run double in the fourth inning and a two-run single in the fifth

Walker, the Pirates' first-round draft pick in 2004, went 4-for-6 with two doubles, two RBIs and a run scored
The 21-year-old third baseman reached base in 11 of his 14 plate appearances during the just-completed three-game set against the Rock Cats

Josh Shortslef (1-6), the beneficiary of the Curve's offensive outburst, picked up his first win over 11 starts this season
The 25-year-old allowed four runs - three earned - over six innings of work

Jason Roach picked up his first save of the season despite surrendering two runs over three innings

Luke Hughes went 4-for-4 with a double and two runs scored for the Rock Cats (29-25), while Brandon Roberts went 2-for-4 with a double and three RBIs

Rock Cat fielders committed four errors in the ballgame, permitting the Curve to plate six unearned runs

Brad Baker (2-3) took the loss, surrendering six runs - three earned - on seven hits and three walks over 3-1/3 innings pitched

Jay Sawatski yielded five runs - four earned - on five hits and two walks over just 1-2/3 frames, while Brian Forystek hurled two innings and allowed two runs - one earned - on four hits

Frank Mata and Tim Lahey each tossed a scoreless frame

Steven Pearce’s big afternoon helped Josh Shortslef benefit from run support he hasn’t seen in more than a year
Pearce drove in five runs as Altoona beat New Britain, 13-6, in the rubber match Thursday afternoon at New Britain Stadium

Pearce blew the game open with a three-run double in the fourth inning that gave Altoona a 7-1 lead, then tacked on two more runs on a single in the fifth as the Curve went up, 10-3

Shortslef started the season 0-6 largely due to the worst run support among any of the Curve starters, receiving just 2.7 runs per start
A year ago, he opened 5-0 and received 6.9 runs per outing

New Britain fell apart in the fourth inning as Altoona scored five runs on only two hits
The Rock Cats committed two errors, allowed three walks and fell behind, 8-1

Pearce then came through with a single in the fifth that tacked on two more runs
His five RBIs were the most of any Altoona hitter all season

The Curve jumped on New Britain from the start as Jason Bowers led off the game with a triple
Andrew McCutchen singled him home, and Altoona tacked on two more runs in the first on back-to-back RBI doubles by Neil Walker and Adam Boeve

Shortslef (1-6) pitched six innings, scattering six hits and giving up four runs - three earned

Jason Roach came on to pitch the final three innings and earned his first save of the season

Walker was 4-for-6, and all but one starter, Alex Fernandez, had a hit for the Curve

New Britain starter Brad Baker (2-3) was chased in the fourth inning after allowing six runs

The Curve continued to pour it on against reliever Jay Sawatski, who allowed five runs in 1-2/3 innings

The Rock Cats Foundation has become one of the city's foremost benefactors with giving its byword
Unfortunately, the gift of giving tends to spill over onto the baseball diamond where stinginess is next to godliness

The charitable Rock Cats pitching staff distributed nine walks, a record five to Altoona Curve leadoff man Jason Bowers
The magnanimous Rock Cats defense committed four errors and opened the coffers for six unearned runs
The Curve bats took over from there

Steven Pearce had a double and three singles to pace a 19-hit attack and drove in five runs and Neil Walker capped his assault on New Britain pitching with four hits Thursday morning as Altoona pummeled the Rock Cats, 13-6, before the ninth sellout crowd of the season

The Rock Cats (29-25), looking to use the current 13-game homestand as a springboard, lost two of three against the Curve after splitting with New Hampshire and dropping two of three to Binghamton

The biggest hope for the 6,871 school children who descended on New Britain Stadium is that they won't permanently be stained by what their innocent eyes witnessed

The pitchers' inability to throw strikes prompted manager Riccardo Ingram to call an impromptu meeting after the game
"They're swinging the bats well" Ingram said
"They're hitting the ball around the field but you add nine walks into the mix and you get what you got today, a football score
The errors were just as bad all the way around
Those are the two phases of the game we didn't show up on
Errors happen
There are breakdowns, but there's no excuse for not throwing the ball over the plate when you're a Double-A pitcher"

Starter Brad Baker (2-3) never found his rhythm and left in the fourth after yielding three walks, seven hits and six runs, three of them earned

Jay Sawatski allowed two walks, five hits and five runs (4 earned) in less than two frames

None of the other three relievers - Brian Forystek, Frank Mata or Tim Lahey - were sharp

"You've got to throw strikes, and if they're hitting it, they're hitting it and you're not going to be out there long" Ingram said
"But you don't start nibbling
This game is built on strikes if you're a pitcher"

But the most visible damage came from the fielding mishaps, particularly those of unpredictable shortstop Trevor Plouffe
Plouffe, who made three errors during the Rock Cats' previous defensive demise in an ugly loss to Binghamton eight days prior, then smashed his way to Eastern League Player of the Week honors, committed two more blunders and has 16 on the year

His errors, and a dropped foul ball by first baseman David Winfree, led to five unearned runs in the fourth, an inning the Rock Cats entered trailing 3-1

Walker, who went 4-for-6 with two RBI, enjoyed a memorable visit to the Hardware City
The third baseman, listed by Baseball America as the Pirates' second-best prospect, went 9-for-12 on the series, reached base in seven straight at-bats and had a .786 on-base percentage

Walker, who said it was the best series he had ever had, said the Curve players were anxious for retribution after Wednesday night's 8-2 pasting
"When you get your butts kicked you turn around and say that you'll give your extra effort tomorrow" said Walker, the Bucs' first-round choice in the 2004 draft
"Both the offense and defense put it together today
It was big to win the series and get back to .500 (28-28)"

Pearce had a double and three singles to go with a walk in six plate appearances

The lone high point for the Rock Cats was left fielder Luke Hughes, who went 4-for-4 after going 3-for-4 on Wednesday
"He deserves to play
He's another threat" Ingram said
"Maybe it will rub off on some of the other guys
If he keeps doing what he's doing, good things are going to happen to him
He's going to make the lineup somewhere
I can't keep him out of there"

Josh Shortslef (1-6) allowed three earned runs in six innings to gain the win for Altoona

Cats Tales
Jason Roach, who came on in relief of Shortslef, pitched in the only no-hitter in New Britain Stadium's history
On June 27, 2001, Roach was the middle man on a Binghamton triumvirate that no-hit a Rock Cats team that shared the league title
Donne Wall started, Roach pitched the middle innings and Ivan Montane closed it out

The Altoona Curve returned to .500 as they belted 19 hits to defeat New Britain 13-6 Thursday

Third baseman Neil Walker continued his torrid stretch as he went 4-for-6 with two doubles and two RBIs to improve his batting average to .315

First baseman Steven Pearce recorded four hits and five RBIs for the Curve (28-28)

Designated hitter Brett Roneberg scored four runs despite recording just one hit

Shortstop Brandon Chaves added three hits

The Curve begin a three-game series tonight at Harrisburg

The Rock Cats may try to hide details of this loss from their parent club in Minnesota, at least from the Twins' pitching coach

Five New Britain pitchers gave up nine walks and 19 hits - two shy of the Altoona franchise record - and their teammates made four errors to spoil a day when school field trips helped sell out New Britain Stadium for the ninth time this season

At least the weather was nice

After falling far behind early in a six-run loss Wednesday night, Altoona got even quickly in a 13-6 victory before 6,871 Thursday morning

"When you get your butts kicked, you kind of want to turn around and say, `Let's make sure we get after it tomorrow'" Altoona third baseman Neil Walker said
"From both an offensive and defensive standpoint, we put it together today and turned it around"

Walker was the offensive leader, finishing the series with nine hits in 12 at-bats

First baseman Steve Pearce knocked in five runs on Thursday

"I felt good at the plate
I felt like I saw the ball well" Walker said
"It's a good backdrop with the woods in center field"

After scoring three runs in the first on Jason Bowers' triple, Andrew McCutchen's single and doubles by Walker and Adam Boeve, Altoona put the game out of reach with five runs in the fourth, four of them unearned

Bowers, the leadoff hitter, walked five times in the game

Rock Cats manager Riccardo Ingram was an unhappy man and met with his pitching staff after the loss
"Nine walks
Nine is the magic number" Ingram said
"You have a team that's playing like they are and swinging the bats well and hitting the ball around the field
You add nine walks into the mix, and you get what you did today, a football score
The errors were just as bad, all the way around
Those are the two aspects of the game that we didn't show up on"

Brandon Roberts' fourth-inning single to left-center accounted for two of his three RBI as the Rock Cats reduced the deficit to 8-3

But the Curve answered with three in the fifth and two in the seventh as New Britain walked five batters in the last five innings

"You've got to throw strikes" Ingram said
"If they're hitting it, I'm sorry, they're hitting it, and you might not be out there long
But you don't start nibbling and throwing balls
This game is built on strikes
I told my pitchers, `Whoever wants the ball, come and let me know'
In Double A, you've got to throw strikes, or you're going to get replaced"