EL1 Altoona Curve

Errors Plague Curve in Walkoff Loss to Senators on Friday

Published on April 10, 2015 under Eastern League (EL1)
Altoona Curve News Release


HARRISBURG - Matt Skole took the first pitch of the bottom of the 11th inning and planted it in the left-field seats for an opposite-field home run to sink the Curve, 3-2, on Friday night in Harrisburg. It was the first earned run of the season for Curve pitching, who had gone 19 innings to start the year without giving up an earned run.

The game was tied largely in part to three Curve errors that allowed Harrisburg to score two unearned runs earlier in the game. Josh Smith (0-1) pitched a perfect 10th before giving up the solo homer to Skole in the 11th.

Altoona grabbed the early lead in the first off starter Joe Ross and was primed for a big inning. Keon Broxton and Chris Stewart singled back-to-back to put two on with no outs. Josh Bell walked to load the bases for Willy Garcia. Ross zoned in after that and struck out Garcia and Stetson Allie to put two outs on the scoreboard. Eric Wood came up with a patient at bat and walked with the bases loaded to bring Broxton in and give the Curve the lead.

In the bottom of the inning, Tony Renda was on first with two down when Kevin Keyes sent one into the air in right. Allie got to the ball in time but had it nick off his glove and Renda scored all the way from first to tie the game.

Broxton and the Curve answered right back in the second when the Curve centerfielder doubled in Gift Ngoepe to reclaim the lead.

That lead stood for Jason Creasy, who pitched very well in his Double-A debut. Creasy kept the one-run lead until the fifth when he walked Stephen Perez with two away. Renda hit a ball into right field that ended up getting by Allie and rolled to the wall. Perez scored and the game was tied once again.

Creasy finished five innings, giving up the two unearned runs while whiffing one. He also had his first Double-A hit and was 1-for-1 at the plate. Matt Benedict and Tyler Sample each pitched two scoreless innings of relief with some stellar defensive play from Ngoepe and Max Moroff mixed in as well.

Altoona (1-1) and Harrisburg (1-1) will meet at 6 p.m. Saturday night at Metro Bank Park with both teams aiming for the series lead. Pirates' top overall prospect Tyler Glasnow is scheduled to make his Double-A debut in Saturday night's game with Harrisburg. He'll be opposed by minor league veteran Paolo Espino.

Airtime on ESPN Radio 1430, WVAM and the Curve Radio Network is scheduled for 5:45 p.m.

Check out the Altoona Curve Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Eastern League Stories from April 10, 2015


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