Marvel shines in debut, Curve bats go silent in loss

CURVE, Pa. -Altoona Curve came up empty-handed with runners in scoring position to leave James Marvel on the short end of a 3-1 loss to the Erie SeaWolves on Friday at Peoples Natural Gas Field.
The Curve (61-52) left the bases loaded in the eighth inning and stranded a total of 12 runners on base with an 0-for-12 mark with men in scoring position.

Making his Double-A debut, Marvel (Loss, 0-1) needed 76 pitches to get through his first six innings and held the SeaWolves (55-61) to one run over that stretch. Despite no strikeouts through his first three innings of the night, he struck out the side in the fifth and totaled five for the evening. In all, Marvel worked a total of 6.2 innings and allowed two runs on six hits and two walks.
Marvel hit Jake Rogers with a 3-2 pitch to start the seventh inning that eventually led to Erie jumping in front. Rogers aggressively ran from first to third on a hit-and-run that resulted in a groundout to second base by Isaac Paredes before he was knocked in on a single by Danny Woodrow.
Altoona scored first in the second after Stephen Alemais ripped a triple to right-center to lead off the inning and scored on a sacrifice fly by Logan Hill . In the next half inning, Erie came through with the equalizer on a double by Cam Gibson coupled with an RBI single from Willi Castro.
The Curve had at least one base hit in every inning except a 1-2-3 ninth by John Schreiber (Save, 16). After the first two runners climbed on base in the first, the middle of the Altoona lineup went 0-for-3 with a man on second base. Arden Pabst doubled after Hill's sacrifice fly during the second but the following two hitters could not move him. Ke'Bryan Hayes also connected on a one-out double and didn't score in the seventh after Caleb Thielbar took over for A.J. Ladwig (Win, 4-0).
Altoona's greatest threat was a bases-loaded, one-out spot in the eight. Schreiber entered for Thielbar with one out in the eighth and allowed a single to Hill and walked Pabst to fill the sacks for Tyler Gaffney . Schreiber struck out Gaffney looking and Cole Tucker grounded out to second base to end the inning.
Ladwig allowed 10 hits to the Curve and walked Tucker to start the game but managed to limit the damage to one run over 6.1 innings. Ladwig has earned a win with the SeaWolves in four of his last five starts.
After 1.1 scoreless innings of relief from Geoff Hartlieb , the SeaWolves grabbed an insurance run in the ninth against Yeudy Garcia . Erie kicked up chalk down the left field line for a pair of doubles in the inning, one by Paredes to start the frame followed by a two-out two-bagger for Sergio Alcántara to bring home Paredes.
Alemais went 3-for-4 in the ballgame while Hill collected a pair of hits. Hayes singled in the first inning to extend his hitting streak to 11 games and match Jason Martin for the longest of the season. Hayes' doubles in the seventh was his team-best 29th of the campaign.
Despite the loss, the Curve remain three games behind first-place Akron and three games ahead of Harrisburg for the wild card after both clubs also lost on Friday.
The Curve and SeaWolves continue their weekend series with a double-header on Saturday. First pitch of the first contest is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. at Peoples Natural Gas Field with the second game beginning approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of game one. The Curve will start right-hander Luis Escobar (2-0, 4.87) in the first game against Alfred Gutierrez (2-1, 3.71) for Erie. In game two, left-hander Cam Vieaux (7-3, 3.66) will make the start for Altoona and will be opposed by a starter to be determined for Erie.
Jack Wilson will be on hand for a meet and greet and more on his Fans' Choice All-Time Curve Team bobblehead giveaway night, presented By Altoona Grand Hotel. The bobblehead will go to the first 1,000 fans and the ballpark gates open at 3:30 p.m. For tickets or more information, visit AltoonaCurve.com, call 877.99.CURVE or stop by the PNG Field box office.
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