The Result
Curve - 4 runs to 3
----------Ten innings

The Curve - Year-to-Date
1 win and 2 losses

Brett's Position and the Batting Order
Playing - First base
Batting - #5

Brett's at-bats
First plate appearance
Lefthanded pitcher
Bases empty - one down
Swing and a miss - "That was a good pitch on the outside corner ... Brett tried to pull it and came up empty"
"That is dropped on the left side and it's an easy play for the third-baseman"
Ground out to third base - 5 to 3
Second plate appearance
Lefthanded pitcher
Led off the innings
Called strike
Ball - outside
"Here comes the 1-1 pitch ... and that got Brett on the backside!! ... it was a big lazy overhand breaking ball and I'm sure it wouldn't have hurt Roneberg"
Hit by pitched ball
Advanced to second base on a hit
Advanced to third base on a sacrifice bunt
Scored on an infield ground out
Third plate appearance
Lefthanded pitcher
Led off the innings
Foul ball - off the hands
"That pitch is is tagged into leftfield ... Brett hit that line drive sharply but it was straight at the fielder who was crossed up for a moment but was able to make the catch"
Fly out to leftfield - F7
Fourth plate appearance
Righthanded pitcher
Bases empty - none down
Called strike
Swing and a miss
"Brett hits that ball into the hole on the leftside ... it was knocked down by the Aeros shortstop but he couldn't handle it and it was a hit all the way for Brett"
Single to shortstop
Stole to second base - "Brett had nine steals last season ... he picks his spots well and he now has his first for this year"
Left stranded at the end of the innings
Fifth plate appearance
Righthanded pitcher
Runner at second base - two down
Called strike
Ball - outside
Ball - high
Ball - low and outside
Ball - outside
Walk
Advanced to second base on an infield single
Left stranded at the end of the innings

At the end of the Game
1 hit from 3 at-bats - single, 1 x run scored, 1 x walk, 1 x stolen base, 1 x hit by pitch

Heard during the game

(01) During the bottom of the fourth inning I sent an email to the commentator, Jason Dambach ... I was just saying hello and to advise that as this was a morning game in the USA, the time difference made it about 1.30am Thursday morning in Cairns!! ... Brett led off the fifth innings, and during this at-bat, Jason gave me a call ... he also mentioned our "very comprehensive web site that gives all the Roneberg Family History" ... and Jason repeated the complete web address a few times saying "you should check it out because it's fantastic"

Email from Brett

Game Reports

It is said that the first one is always the toughest, and as it pertains to Curve victories, the statement certainly rang true on Wednesday

Randy Ruiz was the hero not once, but twice as Altoona went 10 innings to finally defeat Akron 4-3

After his first attempt to send the Curve to victory lane was thwarted, a defiant Ruiz came up big again for Altoona in the tenth
Following a Neil Walker double off of reliever Kyle Collins, Ruiz doubled as well to drive home Walker and give the Curve the game-winner

Chris Hernandez gave up a lead off single to Asdrubal Cabrera in the bottom of the inning, but retired the next three Aeros to collect his first save of the season

Ruiz broke a 1-1 tie in the top of the ninth inning with his second home run of the season, a two-run blast off of Aeros reliever Jensen Lewis to give the Curve a 3-1 lead

The Aeros didn’t roll over however, plating two runs off of reliever Justin Vaclavik in the bottom of the inning to force the Curve to extra innings for the first time this season
The second run was unearned as Curve third baseman Neil Walker misplayed a ground ball off the bat of Brandon Pinckney, which allowed Jon Van Every to score the tying run

Following the two-run uprising, Vaclavik completed the ninth inning, which made him the pitcher of record for Altoona while they tallied the game-winner in the tenth
That gave him the win, and improved his record to (1-0)

Collins took the loss to fall to (0-1) on the year

Lost amid the late-game theatrics was an extremely solid American debut for Cuban-born Curve starter Yoslan Herrera
In his first game action in more than a calendar year, Herrera went five strong innings, allowing a lone run on four hits

Matt Peterson also turned in a quality appearance out of the bullpen, relieving Herrera and holding Akron scoreless for 2-2/3 innings

The win allowed the Curve to avoid a season opening sweep in Akron as they now return home to Altoona for their home opener tomorrow night

The Curve will open the home portion of their schedule at Blair County Ballpark tomorrow night at 6.35pm against the Reading Phillies
Right-hander Kip Bouknight will make his first start of the season for the Curve
Left-hander Matt Maloney for Reading will oppose him

Randy Ruiz hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning and a game-winning double in the tenth to lead visiting Altoona to a 4-3 victory over Akron on Wednesday afternoon

Ruiz's ninth-inning dinger snapped a tie ballgame, giving Altoona (1-2) a short-lived 3-1 lead

The Aeros (2-1) stormed right back in the bottom of the frame, as Rodney Choy Foo contributed an RBI single to bring Akron within a run
One batter later, Jonathan Van Every scored on third baseman Neil Walker's fielding error

The Curve took the lead for good in the tenth when Neil Walker atoned for his error by lacing a two-out double prior to Ruiz's game-winning hit

Ruiz's heroics made a winner of Justin Vaclavik (1-0), who allowed two runs - one earned - over 1-1/3 innings pitched

Carlos Hernandez pitched around Asdrubal Cabrera's leadoff single in the tenth and picked up his first save

Overshadowed by the late-inning dramatics was the professional debut of Altoona starter Yoslan Hererra
Hererra making his first start in the United States since defecting from Cuba in 2005, allowed one run on four hits over five innings

Kyle Collins (0-1) pitched the tenth inning for Akron and suffered the loss, while Jensen Lewis surrendered two runs in the ninth

Starter Aaron Laffey cruised through six innings, yielding a run on just two hits

The Aeros dropped their first game of the season, losing the final game of the season-opening homestand to Altoona in extra-innings, 4-3

Trailing 3-1 in the bottom of the ninth, Akron posted two runs to extend the game into the tenth inning, but could not convert the series sweep against its Southern Division rival

In the top of the ninth, Randy Ruiz put Altoona ahead 3-1 with a two-run home run off of Aeros reliever Jensen Lewis

Akron rallied with a pair of runs in the bottom of the frame as Rodney Choy Foo singled to bring home Ryan Goleski
Then Jon Van Every scored on a fielding error by third baseman Neil Walker off the bat of Brandon Pinckney

In the top of the tenth, back-to-back doubles from Walker and Ruiz off of Kyle Collins (0-1) gave the Curve the lead for good

Justin Vaclavik (1-0) pitched one and a third innings to get the win, while Chris Hernandez held the Aeros in the tenth for his first save of the season

The Curve’s first win of the season featured all kinds of interesting story lines and showed exactly why development is so important in minor league baseball

Randy Ruiz saved the day by drilling a pair of clutch hits in the ninth and tenth innings to lift Altoona to a 4-3 victory over Akron
Ruiz ripped a two-run homer in the ninth for a 3-1 lead, then after the Aeros tied it, he smoked an RBI double in the tenth for the game winner Wednesday at Canal Park

‘‘Of course it feels good, especially the beginning of the season and we got our first win out of the way’’ Ruiz said
‘‘I’m just happy I had the opportunity to come up with somebody on base to drive him in’’

That somebody he drove in to win it was Neil Walker, who had his own intriguing turn of events late in the game
Walker, a former catcher in his first season playing third base, committed a costly error in the bottom of the ninth that allowed Akron to tie the game, 3-3
He lifted his glove on a slow roller by Brandon Pinckney, and as the ball scooted under, Jon Van Every scored from third to even things up

‘‘That’s one of the most important things in this transition is there are going to be some errors’’ Walker said

‘‘He was pretty upset that he made the error’’ Curve manager Tim Leiper noted

Prized prospects like Walker are in the minor leagues for a reason, which is to develop, play consistently and learn how to overcome mistakes
In that regard, Walker had a fine afternoon
He had a chance to atone for the error and did just that when he stepped to the plate with two outs in the tenth
Walker smacked a double to right off Akron reliever Kyle Collins (0-1) to give Ruiz a chance to tie it
‘‘It’s inevitable that things like that are going to happen’’ Walker said of the error
‘‘But the key is to focus on the task at hand’’

Overcoming the defensive miscue and getting the double in that situation, Leiper said, is ‘‘the sign of a good player’’

‘‘I give him all the props in the world that he didn’t take his error to his at-bat’’ Ruiz said
‘‘He came up and knew what he had to do to get on base so I could drive him in, and he did a great job getting on base’’

Aeros manager Tim Bogar had a tough decision with Walker on second
He could let Collins, a right-hander, face Ruiz, one of the most dangerous hitters in the Eastern League
Or he could walk Ruiz to get to left-handed hitting Brett Roneberg, which would give the Curve a lefty-righty advantage
Bogar opted to face Ruiz, and the Altoona hitter pounded a double to left for the go-ahead RBI

‘‘Look at the clutch hitting today’’ Leiper said of Ruiz
‘‘He changes the game when he comes to the plate’’

The game was even at 1-1 when Walker singled and Ruiz homered to left to open the ninth
The Curve had only three hits to that point, but Ruiz’s second homer of the young season gave them a chance to win

Akron rallied in its half of the ninth against Justin Vaclavik (1-0), who gave up the lead but earned the victory in his Double-A debut
A one-out walk to Ryan Goleski started Akron’s rally, then back-to-back singles got the Aeros within 3-2 before Walker’s error tied it

Chris Hernandez worked around a leadoff single in the tenth to earn the save for the Curve

On most other days, the story of the game would have been the strong U.S. debut of Cuban Yoslan Herrera, but the late-inning drama stole his spotlight Wednesday
Herrera, who hadn’t pitched in two years, gave up only one run on four hits over five innings, striking out two with one walk
‘‘He did an excellent job’’ Curve pitching coach Ray Searage said
‘‘I didn’t think he’d have that good of a feel for his curveball today, and his changeup was working outstanding with the command
All his pitches were down in the zone, had good command, very good poise on the mound
Very positive outing for him and something to build on’’

The lone run charged to Herrera came on a two-out wild pitch that scored Brian Barton from third in the fourth inning

Altoona managed only one run in six innings off Akron starter Aaron Laffey

Curve outfielder Adam Boeve had a second straight big day, going 3-for-5, and is now 6-for-12 on the season

Center fielder Andrew McCutchen, though, is off to a slow start as he was 0-for-5 Wednesday and 0-for-11 in the series
‘‘His approach was good; it’s finding the timing, getting those things down’’ Leiper said of the Pirates’ top prospect
‘‘They pitched him well
He’s coming in here with a target on his back, and everybody knows who he is coming off the good spring
At the end I saw a little frustration, but I said to him after the game, ’Listen, you’re good, just go back in the cage, stay in your game, you’re fine’’’