Game One Goes To Trenton In Extras
LP: Bryan Morris (0-1)
Save: None
TOG: 2:51
Attendance: 5,501
CURVE, Pa. - Austin Romine's two-out RBI single in the top of the 10th inning lifted Trenton to a Game 1 win over Altoona as the Thunder topped the Curve, 3-2, in 10 innings on Tuesday night at Blair County Ballpark. The Curve scored both of its runs off rehabbing starter Andy Pettitte, who pitched five innings and did not factor into the decision.
Bryan Morris (0-1) came in to pitch the 10th and walked the leadoff man Matt Cusick to put the go-ahead runner on. Austin Krum put down a sacrifice bunt towards first but Matt Hague fielded and had enough time to throw Cusick out at second for the inning's first out. With Krum on at first, Justin Snyder singled to right to move Krum to second with one away.
Morris got a big strikeout of Daniel Brewer for the inning's second out but Romine singled into right field to bring Krum around from second and give Trenton the lead. Andrew Lambo hit a deep fly ball in the bottom of the 10th off Andrew Brackman (1-0) but it stayed in the park and the game was over.
Altoona led twice in the game and took the game's first lead when Chase d'Arnaud led off the first inning with a solo-homer to left-center field off Pettitte. d'Arnaud, who homered six times during the regular season, has a big-fly in three consecutive games.
Trenton tied the game in the third inning on Brewer's two-out, run-scoring single to right field. Altoona came right back in the bottom half of the third, receiving an RBI single from Josh Harrison that put them up, 2-1. In the fifth, the visitors tied the game once again on Krum's double down the left-field line, scoring Luis Nunez.
Pettitte and Rudy Owens both took no-decisions, allowing two runs through five innings. Owens yielded seven hits, two walks and fanned seven while Pettitte surrendered six hits and worked out of a bases-loaded, nobody-out jam in the fifth.
The Curve also had one-out, bases-loaded opportunity in the eighth but could not find a hit to bring home the go-ahead run. Altoona was 2-for-7 with runners in scoring position and stranded nine baserunners in the game.
Game two of the Eastern League Championship Series is Wednesday night at 6:30 p.m. from Blair County Ballpark in Curve, PA. Altoona trots out LHP Jeff Locke (0-0, 1.93) to the mound to face Trenton's Dellin Betances (1-0, 0.00) in the Curve's final home game of 2010.
The first 1,000 fans through the gates will receive a 2010 Altoona Curve Commemorative Photo courtesy of McDonald's, Peoples Natural Gas, Sheetz, Pepsi and Atlantic Broadband. Great seats are available for the final home game of the season by calling 877.99.CURVE, visiting www.AltoonaCurve.com or by stopping into the box office at BCB.
Airtime for Game 2 of the ELCS on flagship ESPN Radio 1430, WVAM and the Curve Radio Network is scheduled for 6 p.m.