Curve surge to win over Fightins to open road trip

READING, Pa. - Behind a 14-hit offensive attack, including four by Stephen Alemais, the Altoona Curve topped the Reading Fightin Phils, 8-2, on Thursday night at FirstEnergy Stadium.

The Curve (50-43) won the first of the five-game, four-day road series against the Fightin Phils (44-52).
Christian Kelley knocked an RBI single to open the second, and Ke'Bryan Hayes scored from second on an infield single by Bryan Reynolds in the third to give the Curve a 2-0 lead.
Reading rallied to tie the score in the bottom of the fourth with solo home runs by Austin Listi and Cornelius Randolph against Cam Vieaux (Win, 6-1).
Tweet from @AltoonaCurve: Another solid night for Cam Vieaux 💪5.2 IP5 H2 R4 SO@LoganSendelbach strands a pair to send this game to the seventh. We're leading 6-2. pic.twitter.com/FXnXrwjEuP
The two runs marked the only scoring against Vieaux on the night. He worked through 5.2 innings and allowed two earned runs on five hits with four strikeouts and matched a career high with four walks.
Tweet from @AltoonaCurve: SO. CLOSE. @KeBryanHayes misses a homer by inches, drives in @StephenAlemais to put us back on top We're leading 3-2 in the fifth inning pic.twitter.com/TeBkTg9VBG
Hayes gave the Curve the lead for good with an RBI double off the left-field wall in the top of the fifth, kickstarting a four-run inning. Will Craig followed with a two-run single and Logan Hill doubled in a run to open a 6-2 Altoona lead.
Tweet from @AltoonaCurve: A two-run single for @WCraigers22 and we've rolled out to a 5-2 lead in Reading Give Craig 72 runs driven in this season, tied for the most in the league pic.twitter.com/njsYPoKOJV
Reading had two runners on base in the sixth inning, but Logan Sendelbach (Hold, 3) replaced Vieaux and stranded them. Sendelbach worked 2.1 scoreless innings in the game, and he now has a 1.45 ERA over his last 11 outings.
Tweet from @AltoonaCurve: .@LoganSendelbach navigates through 2.1 scoreless innings. He's got a 1.45 ERA in his last 11 games. We're off to the ninth. @ItsGeoffNotJeff takes over with an 8-2 lead. pic.twitter.com/JmP1cyjJSl
In the top of the seventh, Alemais singled in two runs to open the lead to 8-2. He finished the night 4-for-5 with a run scored and two RBIs, raising his season average to .278.
Tweet from @AltoonaCurve: .@StephenAlemais singles to bring in two runs That's his FOURTH hit of the night We're leading 8-2 at the stretch in Reading pic.twitter.com/LAR5fz61G0
Geoff Hartlieb worked around a walk to post a scoreless ninth to close out the game.
Craig went 2-for-5 and drove in two runs, extending his season RBI total to 72, which is tied for first in the Eastern League. Hayes, Hill and Reynolds also had two hits on the night.
Altoona pitchers held Reading to 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position.
With the win, the Curve remained five games behind first-place Akron in the Western Division standings and extended their lead over third-place Harrisburg to two games.
The Curve and Fightin Phils will play a double-header on Friday night. Right-hander Austin Coley (1-0, 2.00) will start the first game for Altoona, opposed by Reading right-hander Connor Seabold (0-2, 6.63). Right-hander Scooter Hightower will start the second game for the Curve. A game-two starter for Reading has not been announced. First pitch for game one is scheduled for 5:35 p.m. at FirstEnergy Stadium.
-CURVE-