B-Mets Engineer Victory Over Curve, 3-2
ALTOONA, PA - Logan Verrett battled through six innings and Wilfredo Tovar provided an offensive spark from the bottom of the batting order as the Binghamton Mets defeated the Altoona Curve, 3-2, Friday night at Peoples Natural Gas Field. Verrett collected his league-leading seventh victory and the B-Mets pushed their record to a season-best eleven games over .500.
The B-Mets grabbed the lead in the third with station-to-station offense. Tovar started the frame my lining a single to right off Curve starter David Bromberg. The eight-hitter took second on a sac bunt, moved to third on a wild pitch and came home on a groundout by Danny Muno.
Altoona struck back in the fourth with a four-hit attack against Verrett. Alex Dickerson and Charlie Cutler started the push with a pair of singles. Andrew Lambo plated both and gave the Curve the lead with a two-run single to right-center field.
The B-Mets offered an immediate rebuttal in the fifth, with Tovar leading the charge again. He punched a single through the hole on the right side to start the stanza and stole second base. Muno tied the game with a one-hop double off the left-field wall and scored the go-ahead run when Cesar Puello cued an RBI, two-out single into center.
Binghamton centerfielder Alonzo Harris flashed the leather to preserve the lead in the bottom of the fifth. With two outs and the potential game-tying run on second, Alex Dickerson scorched a sinking line drive to center. Harris broke in immediately and dove head first, snatching the drive before it reached the grass.
Verrett got more help from Harris in the sixth. After the Curve put together a two-out rally with a single and a walk, Gift Ngeope lifted a fly ball to deep right-center field. Harris tracked it down and made a running catch on the warning track to end the inning.
Adam Kolarek took over in the seventh and worked around a one-out walk to post a scoreless frame. The southpaw returned for the eighth, but was pulled after issuing a free pass with two outs to Adalberto Santos. John Church got the call from the pen and induced Carlos Paulino to fly out, preserving Binghamton's 3-2 advantage. Jeff Walters used a pair of strikeouts to side-step a leadoff single in the ninth for his league-leading 14th save.
Verrett (7-2) allowed two runs while scattering nine hits over six innings of work. Bromberg (2-6) surrendered three runs on six hits over six frames in the losing effort. Ethan Hollingsworth and Quinton Miller chipped in with three scoreless innings of relief for Altoona.
The B-Mets (36-25) continue their three-game set against the Curve (25-35) Saturday night at 6:00 PM. RHP Rafael Montero gets the ball for the B-Mets against RHP Casey Sadler. The Horizons Federal Credit Union Pregame Show begins at 5:45 PM on Newsradio 1290 WNBF.
POSTGAME NOTES: Darrell Ceciliani extended his season-long hitting streak to 14 games with a double in the third inning…the B-Mets have gone 18-7 in their last 25 games…Cesar Puello has driven in eleven runs in this last five games
Individual tickets for all Binghamton Mets 2013 home games are on sale now. Visit the NYSEG Stadium box office during regular operating hours, purchase them online at www.bmets.com or call the office at (607) 723-METS.
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