FROM THE ALTOONA CURVE:
Curve Extra-Base Blasts Eradicate the Evil Rumble Pony Empire
Altoona’s Rebel Alliance scored 10 runs on 13 hits in the series-clinching win.
CURVE, Pa. – It began as a dark time for the Curve Rebellion, as the Imperial Rumble Ponies had driven home three early runs against Altoona’s Rebel Forces. However, the Curve offense entered hyperdrive to score nine unanswered runs to defeat the soldiers from the planet of Binghamton, 10-3, in front of a sell-out crowd of 8,074 across the galaxy on Star Wars Night at Peoples Natural Gas Field.
It was the fourth-straight victory for the Curve, a season-long mark that clinched Altoona its second-straight series. The Curve totaled 13 hits in the win, including five doubles and a pair of home runs that landed in a galaxy far, far away.
Altoona sent Jedi Sean Sullivan to the mound for the start, who was touched for three runs on seven hits with four strikeouts in 5.0 innings pitched. He allowed a run in each of the first three innings, including a solo home run to Brandon McIlwain to open the third before retiring the next eight batters he faced.
The Return of the Jedi came in the third inning, with Altoona trailing 3-1. Liover Peguero opened the frame with a single before the Imperial starter Kyle Wilson recorded two quick outs. Mason Martin was hit by a pitch to set up a Matt Gorski RBI-double. On the next pitch thrown, Jacob Gonzalez found Binghamton’s lack of faith disturbing and blasted his fourth home run of the season, a three-run shot to left to give the rebellion A New Hope with a 5-3 lead.
Martin had a long ball of his own in the fifth, a solo shot that took the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs before landing at the base of the Skyliner Roller Coaster. Alvarez added to the Rebellion with an RBI-single in the seventh inning right before the winds of a far-away land of Tatooine pushed a Sithful thunderstorm that caused a 23-minute rain delay.
The stoppage did not slow the Curve, who added two runs in the seventh on a Gorski single and a run in the eighth on a Peguero base hit.
The Force was with Cameron Junker, Noe Toribio, and Omar Cruz, who spun 4.0 shutout innings to end the contest. Jedi Gorski finished the day with three hits, two doubles, and three RBI, while Alvarez also totaled three hits and two doubles in the win. Altoona improves to 26-22 with the win and remains one game back from Erie in the Southwest Division for first place.
Altoona concludes its two-week homestand with Binghamton, Double-A affiliate of the New York Mets, on Sunday afternoon at 1:00 PM. Altoona will send RHP Aaron Shortridge to the mound to face Binghamton’s RHP Mike Vasil.
