ERIE, Pa. - Jared Oliva connected on his go-ahead, fifth RBI of the night before Logan Hill socked the next pitch for a two-run homer during a three-run top of the 10th inning and the Altoona Curve bettered the Erie SeaWolves in extras, 10-7, on Saturday at UPMC Park.The Curve
ERIE, Pa. - Jared Oliva connected on his go-ahead, fifth RBI of the night before Logan Hill socked the next pitch for a two-run homer during a three-run top of the 10th inning and the Altoona Curve bettered the Erie SeaWolves in extras, 10-7, on Saturday at UPMC Park.
The Curve (49-39, 14-7) and SeaWolves (45-42, 14-7) traded the lead three times and were tied twice, including a 7-7 tally after nine innings.
Oliva's five RBIs set a new career best during his sixth three-hit night of the year. He helped fuel a three-run first for the Curve when he doubled home Mitchell Tolman , who led off with a double, and Chris Sharpe , scoring from first after he was hit by a pitch. Oliva scored the final run of the opening frame after he advanced on a wild pitch and crossed the plate on a sacrifice fly to right by Bligh Madris . In the fifth, Oliva singled home two more runs to grow Altoona's lead to 7-4 after back-to-back hits from Tolman and Sharpe. At the start of the 10th, Oliva missed a pair of bunt attempts to move Sharpe, the placed runner at second base, over to third but cracked a two-strike pitching into center to break the 7-7 tie.
Jerrick Suiter also enjoyed a fruitful night at the plate, going 3-for-5. The first baseman hammered his fourth home run of the year, a two-run blast to left, in the fourth that lifted Altoona to their second lead of the night.
Erie plated six of their seven runs via the long ball, including a pair of game-tying homers by Kody Eaves. The SeaWolves' second baseman took Curve starter Cody Bolton deep to right in the second to even the score, 3-3. During the sixth, Erie pushed one run across while facing Yeudy Garcia before Eaves hit his second homer of the game. In the third, Derek Hill hit a lead-off homer that gave Erie a short-lived, 4-3 advantage before Suiter's blast in the following half inning.
Bolton departed after five innings with four runs allowed and was in line for his first Double-A win before Erie rallied against Garcia in the sixth.
Beau Sulser and Jesus Liranzo (Win, 2-0) each provided two scoreless innings of relief for the Curve. Sulser worked around a two-out, bases-loaded situation in the seventh while Liranzo overcame a throwing error in the bottom of the 10th when he started a 1-6-3 double play to end the game.
Hill's homer to right-center in the 10th off Eastern League All-Star Drew Carlton (Loss, 1-3) was his second in as many days and his sixth of the year with the Curve. Tolman went 2-for-4 with a walk and pushed his on-base streak to 15 games. Sharpe scored three times and went 1-for-4 with a double.
Altoona improved to a season-high 10 games over .500 and clinched the season series over Erie with the victory.
The four-game set concludes on Sunday afternoon at 1:35 p.m. as left-hander Domingo Robles (2-2, 4.50) makes the start for the Curve against Erie right-hander Anthony Castro (3-2, 4.15).
The Curve return to PNG Field on Monday for a three-game series against the Trenton Thunder, Double-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. Promotional highlights include the Daddy-Daughter Ticket Special, FIREWORKS on Tuesday night and the Jaffa Shriners bobblehead giveaway. For tickets or more information, visit AltoonaCurve.com, call 877.99.CURVE or stop by the PNG Field box office. Additionally, the Stockyard Team Store is open Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., during every home game and online 24/7/365.
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