The Potomac Highlands Dispatch
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Email: [email protected]
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2011 Printable Schedule
Upcoming games/events
April 10 Erie SeaWolves 1:05 p.m.
April 11 Akron Aeros 7:05 p.m.
April 12 Akron Aeros 7:05 p.m.
April 13 Akron Aeros 10:35 a.m.
April 14 Richmond 6:30 p.m.*
* Home opener
CEREMONY AND CELEBRATION
Champions/Top Honorees in 2010-2011 Eligible for Free Tickets, Role in Pre-Game On-Field Ceremony
CURVE, Pa., March 14 – If you’ve won a championship in 2010 or the first three months of 2011, the Altoona Curve want you to be part of their Opening Night championship celebration at Blair County Ballpark when the franchise honors members of their 2010 Eastern League Championship team.
To participate in the “Champions of Curve, PA” program the club announced today, all fans need to do is verify that they’ve been a champion or top honoree in some sanctioned, officially-recognized endeavor sometime in 2010 or 2011 which could include:
Athletics
Academics
Recreational Competitions
Fundraising Competitions
Business/Industry Top Awards
Starting today, fans may verify their participation in winning a championship (or earning the highest honor in the field) as an individual or team member or as the leader of a team or group at the Altoona Curve Box Office. Once verified, those fans will receive free admission to the Thursday, April 14 Altoona Curve home opening game.
“We’re extremely excited to announce the ‘Champions of Curve, Pa.’ program,” said Curve General Manager Rob Egan. “The 2010 Eastern League championship was the first our franchise has won and we want all of our fans who have achieved top honors in their activities in the last year to share in the celebration and be recognized themselves in a truly special pre-game ceremony.”
Individual champions, team/group champions, and their direct leaders are eligible for the free admission (grandstand seat) and will be asked to participate in a pregame on-field ceremony with the 2010 Eastern League Champion Altoona Curve players. Family and friends may purchase seating adjacent to their individual, team, or group champions in the grandstand level at Blair County Ballpark. Group discounts are available.
The supply of tickets and field space for participation is limited for the “Champions of Curve, Pa.” program. The program will be available for the Thursday, April 14, 2011 game only. No reservation for tickets or on-field participation will be accepted after Monday, April 11.
The Altoona Curve were presented their 2010 Eastern League championship rings on Wednesday on McKechnie Field in Bradenton, Fla., before a spring training game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Houston Astros. Photo and video courtesy of the Altoona Curve.
Curve receive Eastern League championship rings
GM: Season was 'special for everybody involved'
By Jim Lane
Minor League Baseball
BRADENTON, Fla., March 23 - Wednesday was exciting for Pirate pitching prospect Jeff Locke and several other members of the Altoona Curve's 2010 Eastern League championship squad.
No less than 26 Pirate farmhands who appeared with the Curve during their EL title run a year ago received championship rings during an on-field ceremony prior to the Pirates' Grapefruit League game with the Houston Astros at McKechnie Field.
"It's very special," Locke said prior to the ceremony. "It's almost like a new year for us. It hasn't been a full year, but it's a new year and a chance to look back on the championship season we had, and reflect on that for a little while."
Locke, who came to the Pittsburgh organization from Atlanta in the Nate McLouth trade a couple years ago, split the 2010 season with Bradenton (high Class A) and Altoona. In 10 starts with the Curve, the 23-year-old southpaw posted a 3-2 record and 3.59 ERA with 56 strikeouts and only 12 walks.
Locke was happy with his entire Altoona experience - from the regular season through EL playoff series with Harrisburg and Trenton. He was 1-0 with a 1.54 ERA in two post-season starts for the Curve and was the winning pitcher in the second game of the championship series against Trenton.
"I spent a lot of time with [pitchers] Rudy [Owens], [Justin] Wilson and [Bryan] Morris and other guys on the staff," Locke said. "Losing the first game of both [playoff] series and then coming back to win - that's what we're in it.
"It was one heckuva year, so getting together with all the guys today to look back on our success is special." Locke expects to be in Altoona to start the 2011 season, and he's excited.
"I really like Altoona," Locke said. "It's a real pitchers' park, and the fans have been great to us. They're really loyal. I'm excited to get back there again and, who knows, maybe we can do it [win a championship] again."
Curve owner Bob Lozinak, general manager Rob Egan and Pirates director of player personnel Kyle Stark presented the rings at home plate.
Players receiving rings included Ramon Aguero, Tim Alderson, Tom Boleska, Mike Colla, Mike Crotta, Chase d'Arnaud, Michael Dubee, Miles Durham, Shelby Ford, Matt Hague, Josh Harrison, Gorkys Hernandez, Jared Hughes, Andrew Lambo, Jeff Locke, Jordy Mercer, Bryan Morris, Daniel Moskos, Jim Negrych, Anthony Norman, Rudy Owens, Alex Presley, Tony Watson and Kris Watts.
Pitching coach Tom Filer, hitting coach Ryan Long, trainer Bryan Housand, strength coach Chad Uihlein, clubhouse attendant Jake Hundt and team doctor Jay Robinson also received rings.
"Last year was the first championship the franchise experienced and it was special for everybody involved," Egan said. "Bob [Lozinak] had won a few in Albuquerque [as the Dukes' owner], but it was a long time ago, and it also was great for our fans.
"We had a special group of players and we probably won't have a lot of them back, so it was great to see them again and present them their rings."
Lozinak and Egan traveled to Lakeland on Monday and presented a ring to Matt Walbeck, the Curve's 2010 manager who now manages in the Atlanta Braves' farm system. Players no longer in the Pittsburgh organization will have their rings mailed to them.
Curve employees will receive their rings at the club's Eastern League home opener versus Richmond at 6:30 p.m. on April 14 at Blair County Ballpark. The pregame ceremony will be a part of the Champions of Curve, PA program, which is presented by the Altoona Mirror.
Bats hammer Erie's relievers to notch first win of season
Box Score
ERIE, Pa. – The Curve scored five runs on 11 hits off of the Erie SeaWolves bullpen on Saturday afternoon en route to a 6-2 win over the SeaWolves for its first win of the 2011 season. Outfielder Starling Marte turned in a career date at the plate in the win, setting a career high with four hits while also scoring a run and stealing a base.
The game was tied at one after starter Luke Putkonen departed for the ‘Wolves after five innings but it wouldn’t remain tied for long as Marte greeted ‘Wolves reliever Rob Waite with a double to left field to start the inning. Jordy Mercer followed Marte’s double with a single inside the right-field line to bring the speedy outfielder around from second and the Curve had a lead it would not give back.
Kris Watts then hit the ball through the right side while Mercer was taking off for second on a hit-and-run that worked perfectly with Mercer ending up at third and Watts on at first no one out. Shelby Ford popped out and Quincy Latimore hit a bouncing ball back to Waite that could have ended the inning but Mercer had taken off for home.
Opting to try and get Mercer instead of trying to start a double play, Waite threw home and Mercer got caught in a rundown that enabled Watts to get to third. With two away, Latimore stole second and then Jeremy Farrell singled through the middle to bring home Watts from third. Latimore also came around on the play and beat the throw home but missed home plate and was tagged out by catcher Billy Alvino for the final out of the inning.
Altoona went on to score another run in the seventh on an RBI single by Brock Holt and two more in the eighth on RBI hits by Farrell and Holt. Both Holt and Farrell each had two hits and two RBI in the win for the Curve while Watts also added two hits in his first start of 2011.
Not to be lost in the offense was the quality start turned in by LHP Aaron Thompson (1-0). Thompson, who was making his Pirates organizational debut after being claimed off of waivers this offseason, tossed six innings of one-hit baseball and allowed just one run while striking out two and walking one. The Beaumont, Texas native retired 10 in a row after issuing a leadoff hit to Jamie Johnson in the first and he also retired the last eight batters he faced in the game.
Brian Leach made his Double-A debut in relief and allowed one run on two hits with three walks over 1.1 innings of work. Michael Dubee squashed a bases-loaded, one-out Erie threat in the eighth by inducing an inning-ending double play off the bat of Bryan Pounds. He pitched a perfect ninth for his first save of the season.
The Curve (1-2) will go for the series split on Sunday afternoon at Jerry Uht Park as they square off with the SeaWolves (2-1) at 1:05 p.m. RHP Jared Hughes will make his first start of 2011 for Altoona, after appearing for an inning of relief on Thursday night, while LHP Casey Crosby makes his first start of the year for the SeaWolves.