Allie Annihilates Baysox Hopes for Postseason Berth
Bowie, Md. - The Altoona Curve downed the Bowie Baysox 3-1 in 11 innings on Saturday night at Prince George's Stadium in Bowie. Stetson Allie broke a 1-1 tie in the 11th with a two-run blast and. With the win, the Curve earned their 60th win of the season while eliminating the Baysox from postseason contention.
Altoona plated the first run of the game in the first inning. Drew Maggi led off the ballgame with a four-pitch walk. He then snagged his team-best 37th steal of the season and scored on an RBI double from Andy Vasquez.
Bowie responded in the second inning to tie the game. After a single by Michael Ohlman, he reached second on a walk and scored when Ronald Bermudez hit a single. Curve starter Angel Sanchez had to work out of a situation with runners on the corners and two outs but got Zane Chavez to line out to center.
The Curve had a great chance to take the lead in the eighth inning but poor baserunning kept them off the board. Maggi hit a one-out single and later reached third on an infield single from Ramon Cabrera. Cabrera succeeded on a delay steal to second base, but a pump-fake by the Bowie catcher froze Maggi, who was thrown out at third.
In the 11th inning, Stetson Allie delivered the killing blow to the Baysox' postseason hopes. The 23-year-old mashed his 20th homer of the season over the left field wall to give Altoona a two-run lead after Dan Gamache led off the inning with a walk. Allie becomes the first player since 2005 to hit 20 home runs in a single season. The last players to accomplish this feat were Josh Bonifay and Jose Bautista.
Earning the win for the Curve was reliever Jeff Inman (5-0) who tossed two scoreless innings. Gene Escat (1-1) suffered the loss. Sanchez pitched his best outing as a member of the Pirates organization with 6.2 innings of one-run ball. The right hander allowed just five hits with two walks and a pair of strikeouts.
Curve southpaw Tom Harlan (3-3, 3.25) will make his last start of the 2014 season and he will be opposed by Bowie's Anthony Vasquez (8-7, 4.64). First pitch at Prince George's Stadium is at 2:05 p.m. while pregame on ESPN Radio 1430, WVAM, and the Curve Radio Network is scheduled for 1:35 p.m.
The Curve will return to action at Peoples Natural Gas Field on April 16, 2015 against the Akron RubberDucks. Season tickets are on sale now with special incentives including the Never Waste a Ticket program, early admission to all home games, and more. To purchase season tickets or for additional information, call 877.99.CURVE, visit AltoonaCurve.com, or stop by the front office at Peoples Natural Gas Field.