EL1 Altoona Curve

Curve Sweep SeaWolves in Saturday Twin Bill

Published on August 11, 2018 under Eastern League (EL1)
Altoona Curve News Release


CURVE, Pa. - The Altoona Curve opened and closed Saturday's double-header with big innings to take both contests, 6-4 and 4-2, over the Erie SeaWolves at Peoples Natural Gas Field.

The two wins lift the Curve (63-52) to 11 games over .500 for the first time since the end of the 2016 season and clinched a winning record in the season series against the SeaWolves (55-63). The double-header sweep was the second of the season for Altoona after winning a pair of 1-0 games over the Harrisburg Senators on June 26.

Game 1

A five-run outburst in the first inning powered the Curve to a 6-4 win in the opener of Saturday's double-header.

The Curve offense jumped all over Alfred Gutierrez (Loss, 2-2) with six straight hits to begin the bottom of the first. Bryan Reynolds brought in two on a single before a two-run double by Jordan George and Logan Hill's double brought in George to finish the five-run barrage.

Erie clawed back within one after four runs in the fourth against Luis Escobar (Win, 3-0). All nine hitters came to the plate in the inning for the SeaWolves with RBI knocks from Dominic Ficociello's double, a two-run single by Will Maddox and a single by Danny Woodrow.

Altoona padded one more run to their lead in the sixth. Alfredo Reyes narrowly missed a solo homer off the top of the left field wall that resulted in a double. Ke'Bryan Hayes delivered an RBI single to score Reyes for the only hit with a runner in scoring position in the last eight opportunities after the Curve began the game 4-for-4 in those situations.

Matt Eckelman (Save, 7) locked down the final three outs in the seventh to secure the victory for Altoona after a scoreless inning of relief from Bret Helton in the sixth. Escobar lasted five innings in the start for Altoona and allowed four runs on seven hits while walking three with four strikeouts. Despite allowing five runs in the first, Gutierrez pitching into the sixth inning for the SeaWolves.

Game 2

The Curve stormed back with a last at-bat win in the nightcap, 4-2, highlighted by a go-ahead triple from Cole Tucker.

Batting with the bases loaded, one out and a full count, Tucker capped a three-hit game with a bases-clearing, three-run triple to right-center that lifted the Curve from down by one to up by two runs.

Cam Vieaux (Win, 8-3) pitched six dominant innings and was the benefactor of Tucker's go-ahead knock for his eighth win of the year. The left-hander retired 12 straight batters after the SeaWolves took a 1-0 lead in the second. Willi Castro broke the streak with a solo homer to left that put the SeaWolves on top, 2-0. Vieaux held Erie to three hits total, walked two and struck out five.

The Curve loaded the bases in the sixth inning on a pivotal error by the SeaWolves. The first two batters of the inning, Jordan George and Logan Hill, each reached base when Arden Pabst attempted to bunt the runners over. Erie catcher Jake Rogers fielded and fired to third base to force out the lead runner but Josh Lester mishandled the throw and all Altoona runners were safe to fill the bases.

Erie removed reliever Sandy Baez (Loss, 1-8) after the error and Logan Ratledge was hit by the third pitch from Kurt Spomer to score the Curve's first run of the game. Tyler Gaffney reached on a fielder's choice for the first out of the inning that forced out Hill at home before Tucker's triple. The Curve started the second game 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position and finished 1-for-8.

Dominic Ficociello led off the second with a single against Vieaux and stole second base on a strikeout pitch. With a man in scoring position, Danny Woodrow knocked in the first run of the game for Erie.

The tying run for Erie reached base against Tate Scioneaux (Save, 7) in the seventh when Will Maddox singled with two outs and Rogers, who walked, moved up to third. However, Scioneaux induced a groundout to first baseman Will Craig to end the game preserve the win for Vieaux.

Ke'Bryan Hayes recorded a hit in each ballgame to extend his hitting streak to 13 games, the longest by any Curve player this season. He also connected on his 30th double of the season during the first game and is the first Curve hitter to record a 30-double season since Alex Dickerson hit 36 in 2013.

The Curve and SeaWolves conclude their series on Sunday at 6 p.m. with right-hander Scooter Hightower (0-1, 4.66) taking the mound for Altoona against Erie right-hander Spencer Turnbull (4-6, 4.69).

Sunday at PNG Field is Faith Night, presented by Element Church, with fireworks after the game. Each Sunday in Curve, Pa. is also a Ritchey's Dairy Curve Kids' Club Game. The ballpark gates open at 5 p.m. on Sunday. For tickets or more information, visit AltoonaCurve.com, call 877.99.CURVE or stop by the PNG Field box office.

Check out the Altoona Curve Statistics



Eastern League Stories from August 11, 2018


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central