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Rock Cats' Colabello Blasts Walk-Off Homer in 5-4 Win over Altoona

August 3, 2012 - Eastern League (EL1)
New Britain Rock Cats News Release


NEW BRITAIN, CT - New Britain's Chris Colabello crushed a two-out, three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth to give the Rock Cats a 5-4 victory over Altoona before a sellout crowd of 6,391 in the opening game of a weekend series at New Britain Stadium.

"We had a good scouting report (on Altoona reliever Victor Black). I had a pretty good idea he was going to come after me," said Colabello. "I chased one up in the zone the first time. I just had to remind myself to stay short to the ball and be quick and not think about trying to do too much."

Both teams combined for 22 hits but also left a total of 19 runners on base. New Britain pounded out 12 hits but struggled to drive in runs, going just 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position - however, the `Cats came through when it mattered the most.

Early on, both teams were kept off the board until New Britain's Nate Hanson broke a scoreless tie with a two-run home r off of Kyle McPherson in the fourth inning. Daniel Rohlfing reached base on a one-out double before Hanson drilled a shot over the center field wall for the 2-0 advantage.

New Britain starter Aaron Thompson fired five shutout innings before he ran into trouble in the sixth. Thompson plunked Brock Holt with a pitch to open the inning and walked Adalberto Santos. Ramon Cabrera the lined a triple into center field that scored Holt to cut the lead in half, 2-1. Santos tried to score on the hit but was thrown out at the plate. Thompson bounced back to retire the next two batters to escape the inning with the lead intact.

Thompson limited the Curve to one run on five hits in six solid innings, but came away with the hard-luck no-decision.

In the eighth, Rock Cats reliever David Bromberg served up a leadoff double to Cabrera before walking Oscar Tejeda. That brought manager Jeff Smith out of the dugout. Bruce Pugh came on in relief and allowed a one-out two-run double to Jarek Cunningham that gave the Curve a 3-2 lead.

The Curve tacked on another run in the top of the ninth for a two-run lead over New Britain. The resilient Rock Cats refused to go down without a fight in the final frame. The Curve turned to hard throwing Black, who forced pinch hitter Rene Tosoni to fly out before walking the next two batters. Black (2-2) struck out outfield prospect Oswaldo Arcia for the second out. That brought Colabello to the plate and he drove an 0-1 pitch over the right field wall for his team-best 17th home run of the season.

Pugh (3-1) picked up the win in relief, allowing one run on three hits in two innings.

After dropping eight of its last 10 games, the Rock Cats entered Friday night's game clinging to second place in the Eastern Division after dropping its last eight out of 10 games. With the win, the `Cats remain in second with a half game lead for the second and final playoff spot in the division.

"The team needed something like that to get their spirits back up," said Rock Cats manager Jeff Smith. "What a hit by a guy that's been doing it all season for us."



Eastern League Stories from August 3, 2012


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