Altoona Bats Come Alive In 13-5 Win Over Erie
April 15, 2010 - Eastern League (EL1)
Altoona Curve News Release
ERIE, Pa. - The Altoona Curve are off to the best start in franchise history as the first-place club pounded out 13 runs on 15 hits to beat the Erie SeaWolves, 13-5, at Jerry Uht Park.
Miles Durham turned in one of his best performances in a Curve uniform on Thursday night as the right fielder went 3-for-5 with a double, home run and four RBI. The Fort Worth, Texas native finished a triple shy of the cycle.
Altoona wasted no time jumping on the SeaWolves starter Duane Below (0-2) as they plated two runs in the first when Hector Gimenez doubled to right field to score Chase d'Arnaud and Jim Negrych. The double chased Below after just 0.2 of an inning and the Curve would see a total of six different Erie pitchers throughout the game.
Starting pitcher Tim Alderson (1-0) took the mound in the bottom of the first with a two-run lead that wouldn't last long as Andy Dirks led off the game for Erie with a solo home run to right. After Altoona added on three runs in the third thanks to the Durham homer and one in the fourth, Alderson was working in the fifth with a, 6-1, lead.
Erie began to creep back into the game at that point as the SeaWolves put two on with two away for Wilkin Ramirez in the bottom of the fifth, who subsequently hit a three-run homer to left-center to pull Erie within one.
Alderson would finish the inning and earn the win. He permitted four runs on six hits with two strikeouts and a pair of walks.
After the departure of Alderson, Matt Walbeck put the game in the hands of his bullpen and sent Dustin Molleken out in the sixth. The 6-5, 219-pound Molleken worked through the sixth unscathed but ran into a bit of trouble in the seventh. With one down, Max St. Pierre singled and Dirks tripled him in to cut Altoona's lead to one. The Curve would escape the seventh ahead by one.
Erie mounted another serious scoring attack in the eighth but it was thwarted by Daniel Moskos, who came in with two on, one out and the tying run at second base. Moskos buckled down and got out of the inning with no runs coming across the plate.
Altoona entered the ninth inning hoping for an insurance run to give themselves some breathing room but they instead went on to score seven runs on six hits to blow the game wide open. Moskos would pitch the bottom of the ninth inning and earn his first save of the season.
The Curve and SeaWovles will meet in the second game of the four-game series on Friday night at 6:35 p.m. Altoona will send left-hander Rudy Owens (0-0, 5.79) to the mound against Erie righty Thad Weber (0-1, 1.80). Pregame coverage begins at 6:05 p.m. on flagship station ESPN Radio 1430-WVAM and on the Altoona Curve Radio Network.
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