Curve Stunned in New Britain

NEW BRITAIN, Conn. - Chris Colabello hit a three-run, walk-off homer with two down in the bottom of the ninth to take a victory away from the Curve and place the Rock Cats in the win column, 5-4, on Friday night at New Britain Stadium.    The loss sends the Curve to a fourth straight defeat and it's the third time on this road trip that Altoona has lost by a run.

The Curve carried a 4-2 lead into the ninth after an insurance run scored in the top of the inning when Adalberto Santos trotted home from third on a wild pitch.  Vic Black (2-2) was called in to try and convert his eighth save and it started well by Black retiring pinch hitter Rene Tosoni for the first out.  Altoona's closer then issued back-to-back walks to Aaron Hicks and Chris Herrmann before getting a strikeout of Oswaldo Arcia for the inning's second out.

Colabello then connected with Black's 0-1 pitch and drove it out of the park over the wall in right-center to give the 'Cats the walk-off win.  The Colabello home run is the first home run that Black has given up this season.

Altoona's first lead in the game came in the eighth inning thanks to Jarek Cunningham's two-run double off closer Bruce Pugh (3-1).  The double erased a Rock Cats lead that had stood since the fourth when Nate Hanson hit a two-run homer off Curve starter Kyle McPherson.  The two runs were the only ones that McPherson permitted on the day in his six innings of work.

Santos, Ramon Cabrera and Oscar Tejeda all had two-hit days in the loss with both of Cabrera's knocks going for extra bases.  Altoona as a team had 10 hits and did have some missed opportunities, going 2-for-14 with runners in scoring position while leaving 10 men stranded on the bases.

--Curve Media Relations--