The Result
Defenders - 8 runs to 6

The Curve - Year-to-Date
33 wins and 32 losses

Brett's Position and the Batting Order
Did Not Start
Playing
Batting - #

----------Entered the game as a pinch hitter in a 'double switch' during the bottom of the seventh innings
----------Remained in the game and played leftfield

Brett's at-bats
First plate appearance
Righthanded pitcher
Runner at second base - one down
Ball - outside
Ball - outside
Ball - curve ball - outside
Ball - low
Walk
Advanced to second base on a hit
Advanced to third base on a passed ball
Scored on a hit
Second plate appearance
Righthanded pitcher
Runner at first base - one down
Called strike - on the outside corner
"That ball is driven into leftfield but the fielder is going back and is able to make the catch just shy of the warning track ... Roneberg put a decent charge into that ball and hit it the other way"
Fly out to leftfield - F7

At the end of the Game
0 hit from 1 at-bat - 1 x walk, 1 x run scored

Heard during the game

Email from Brett

Game Reports

A night after Connecticut nearly erased an eight-run deficit only to fall a run short, the Curve tried to climb out of an 8-0 hole but were ultimately turned away as the Defenders held on, 8-6, to take the series from the Curve

Trailing 8-0, the Curve came back furiously in the bottom of the seventh inning
Steven Pearce led off the inning with a solo home run to left field off of Defenders' reliever Ryan Sadowski to get the Curve on the board for the first time
Alex Fernandez followed with an infield single and advanced to third as Brandon Chaves reached on an error on Eugenio Velez
Taber Lee scored both men with a double to the left field corner to make the score 8-3
A batter later, Brett Roneberg pinch-hit and walked to put two men aboard
Joe Bateman relieved Sadowski, but Jason Bowers promptly singled in Lee and Andrew McCutchen doubled past third baseman Mark Minicozzi to clear the bases and pull the Curve within 8-6
That was as close as the Curve got, as Osiris Matos came on and struck out both Fernandez and Chaves to strand the bases loaded for Altoona

The Defenders jumped in front with two earned runs off of Curve starter Yoslan Herrera

Connecticut scored first in the second inning as Herrera botched a double play ball from Todd Jennings allowing Simon Klink to score and put Connecticut ahead 1-0

Carlos Sosa increased that lead to 2-0 with a sacrifice fly that plated John Bowker in the fifth

Herrera (1-5) was tagged with the loss despite allowing just those two runs on three hits over five innings

Dave Davidson came on in the sixth inning and walked lead off man Mark Minicozzi
Velez followed with a double and Bowker singled home both runners to make it a 4-0 ballgame

Wildness from Davidson loaded the bases for Connecticut in the seventh inning
Davidson walked both Patrick Dobson and Minicozzi, and hit Trey Webb
Romulo Sanchez was called upon and struck out Velez, but Bowker followed and hammered an 0-2 pitch over the wall in right field for a grand slam to put the game out of reach, 8-0

Lost in all the late-game offense was an exceptional effort from Defenders' starter Brooks McNiven
McNiven (3-3) threw five scoreless innings to earn his third win of the year

Defenders closer Brian Anderson permitted a two-out single to Pearce in the ninth, but retired pinch-hitter Neil Walker to end the ballgame and earn his 13th save of the season

The win gave Connecticut the series win and also allowed them to split the season series with the Curve
Each team claimed the series at the others' ballpark and called it a draw at three games apiece

The Curve enjoy an off day on Monday and then begin a nine-game stretch over seven days on Tuesday in Erie
The Curve will play a doubleheader with the Seawolves on back-to-back nights, with game one beginning on Tuesday night at 5.05pm
Altoona will send LHP Josh Shortslef (1-6, 4.30) to the hill in game one against RHP Andrew Kown (2-3, 4.35) for Erie

Both teams starters for game two are yet to be determined

John Bowker belted a grand slam and drove in five runs as visiting Connecticut defeated Altoona, 8-6, on Sunday

Bowker, who went 3-for-4, cranked his ninth homer in the seventh inning off reliever David Davidson as the Defenders built an 8-0 lead
The 23-year-old right fielder also doubled and scored in the fourth and drilled an RBI single in the sixth

Eugenio Velez and Simon Klink doubled and scored a run for Connecticut (26-40)

The Curve (33-32) sent 12 batters to the plate in a six-run seventh
Steven Pearce led off with his eighth homer and Taber Lee and Andrew McCutchen each cracked two-run doubles
Jason Bowers added an RBI single before Osiris Matos ended the threat by fanning Alex Fernandez and Brandon Chaves with the bases loaded

Defenders starter Brooks McNiven (3-3) allowed just three hits and a walk while fanning one in five scoreless innings

Matos went 1-2/3 innings and Brian Anderson pitched around a hit in the ninth to earn his 13th save

Altoona starter Yoslan Herrera (1-5) surrendered two runs on three hits while striking out four and walking two in five innings

Steven Pearce stood in front of his locker and didn’t hold back
Connecticut, the worst team in the Eastern League’s Northern Division, had just taken two of three from the Curve
The capper was Sunday night’s 8-6 setback to the Defenders before a sold-out crowd of 7,269 at Blair County Ballpark

‘‘It’s big-time disappointing, especially when we’re in a race’’ Pearce said
‘‘We’ve got to come out and play better than that
It’s unacceptable baseball’’

Fourth-place Altoona dropped 2-1/2 games back of second in the Southern Division after Bowie beat New Britain, 6-5, in 12 innings on Sunday

Curve starter Yoslan Herrera held his own - he allowed only two runs on three hits over five innings - but Connecticut hammered reliever Dave Davidson for five runs

The Defenders managed to hang on despite a six-run Curve seventh

Altoona swept New Britain to start the homestand, improved to two games over .500 for the first time in a month and looked to be in a prime position to continue rolling by playing a Connecticut team that had been 15 games under .500

‘‘Dropping that series, you know’’ outfielder Adam Boeve said before collecting his thoughts ‘‘you definitely want to win that one’’

‘‘They won this game and battled’’ Pearce said
‘‘We didn’t’’

Altoona manager Tim Leiper looked at the bigger picture
‘‘A 4-2 homestand, we’ll take it’’ he said

The Curve returned to BCB for the six-game set after losing two of three to Harrisburg, the occupant of the Southern Division’s basement

Davidson’s ERA stood at 2.04 on May 17, but that figure has soared to 5.08 as a result of shaky command
Twenty-three batters have reached on free passes in 33-2/3 innings, including three on Sunday in 1-1/3 innings of work

When Romulo Sanchez allowed Altoona’s second grand slam of the season - this one to John Bowker, who had five RBIs and gave the Defenders an 8-0 advantage in the seventh - two runners were on as a result of Davidson’s walks
Another reached on a hit by pitch

‘‘He’s got to get through it’’ Leiper said
‘‘He’s got to throw strikes’’

Connecticut reliever Ryan Sadowski threw plenty, but most were over the plate
The Curve scored five runs off the righty, then added another off Joe Bateman, in the six-run seventh inning
Pearce’s homer led off the frame to ignite the comeback
‘‘Maybe that was the spark we needed’’ he said
‘‘Sadowski was pretty flat, and our team fed off it’’

Taber Lee, who kept the inning alive when he attempted to steal third base, and Andrew McCutchen both came through with two-run doubles

Jason Bowers singled through the hole created when Connecticut third baseman Mark Minicozzi broke to cover the bag
If not for Lee’s timely play, Bowers would have bounced into an inning-ending double play

‘‘Hopefully, by being aggressive, we’re going to make things happen’’ Leiper said

The Defenders eventually escaped the seventh thanks to reliever Osiris Matos
He walked Pearce to load the bases before striking out Alex Fernandez and Brandon Chaves to preserve the 8-6 lead

Herrera (1-5), meanwhile, has allowed only two runs in his past 11 innings after missing a start
‘‘I feel I’m the pitcher I was before I came here’’ he said through translator Milver Reyes
‘‘I’m feeling better and better the more and more I pitch’’

Connecticut starter Brooks McNiven improved to 3-3, and closer Brian Anderson saved his 13th game

The Curve are off today before heading to Erie for back-to-back doubleheaders

‘‘We’ve got to come out ready to play’’ Pearce said
‘‘Tonight, we didn’t do it’’