Curve Prevail In 11 Innings In Harrisburg, 7-4
June 16, 2004 - Eastern League (EL1)
Altoona Curve News Release
Harrisburg, PA- Jeff Keppinger matched a franchise record with five hits and the Altoona Curve scored three times in the eleventh inning Wednesday to defeat the Harrisburg Senators, 7-4 at Commerce Bank Park.
With its eleventh win in the last 12 games, Altoona (38-26) moved into sole possesion of first place in the Eastern League's Southern Division. Erie lost at home to Reading, 3-2 in ten innings to drop a game behind the Curve. Last-place Harrisburg (21-43) fell 17 games out in the standings with the defeat.
Keppinger continued his hitting streak to 14 games with a single in the first inning and proceeded to bang out four more hits in his last five at bats. The Curve second baseman raised his average to .411, the best in all of professional baseball.
Keppinger has also strung together eight consecutive multi-hit games and is batting .552 (32-for-58) during his hitting streak.
The Curve broke a 4-4 tie in the eleventh against Ryan Douglass (0-2). Ray Sadler singled to open the frame and Yurendell DeCaster walked. Winning pitcher Elio Serrano (2-2) moved the runners along with a sacrifice bunt before Chris Duffy singled home Sadler with the go-ahead tally.
Douglass balked home DeCaster for a two-run advantage. After Keppinger's fifth hit of the game left runners at first and third, Nate McLouth counted his 40th RBI of the season with a ground out to short.
Mike Crudale pitched a scoreless bottom of the eleventh for his first save of the season.
Harrisburg grabbed a 2-0 lead with single runs in the second and fifth innings against Mike Connolly. The lefty worked 6 2/3 strong innings, though, to keep the Curve within striking distance. He yielded two runs on five hits, walking one and striking out six.
Altoona scratched out a run off of Senators' southpaw Mike Hinckley in the sixth on a sacrifice fly by Ronny Paulino, but that was all. The Expos' number-two prospect, according to Baseball America, allowed only the one run on three hits in his six innings and left with the lead.
The Curve tied the game on a DeCaster home run in the seventh. His seventh longball of the season and second in as many nights came off of Danny Rueckel.
In the eighth, Altoona took its first lead. McLouth singled, stole second, advanced to third on an error and scored on a Rueckel's first wild pitch of the season.
Larry Broadway brought Harrisburg even at three with a lead-off home run in the eighth against Blake Stein.
After the Curve reclaimed the advantage in the top of the tenth on an RBI double by Paulino, the Senators used the longball to tie it in the bottom of the inning. Josh McKinley launched Serrano's first pitch of the stanza over the left center field wall to knot the score, 4-4.
The Curve will go for a sweep of the three-game series in Harrisburg Thursday at 6:35. In a duel of right-handers, Bryan Bullington (5-2, 3.98) of the Curve will oppose the Senators' Shawn Hill (4-6, 2.99).
Eastern League Stories from June 16, 2004
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