BINGHAMTON, N.Y. – Trailing 4-0 entering the sixth inning, Altoona rallied to score five runs on six hits to take a 5-4 lead, but the Rumble Ponies held on for a 10-6 win over the Curve on Wednesday night at Mirabito Stadium.
With one away in the sixth, Murf Gray started the rally with a double before Callan Moss moved him to third with a single. Titus Dumitru then knocked an RBI-double before Easton Carmichael followed with a two-run double to make it 4-3. Later in the frame, Keiner Delgado plated a pair on a two-run single to give Altoona its first lead of the game, 5-4.
Carmichael would add a third run batted in in the seventh inning, tying the game at six with a two-out single to score Dumitu, but a late Rumble Ponies rally would be too much to overcome for the Curve.
Matt Ager started the contest and allowed six runs on nine hits in 5.1 innings. He surrendered a home run to Marco Vargas on the first pitch in the bottom of the first inning before allowing a home run three batters later to Chris Suero to make it 2-0 in the first. Ager surrendered two runs in the fifth and left the bases loaded in the sixth inning, exiting with a 5-4 lead and three strikeouts on the night.
Mike Walsh entered in relief and allowed two inherited runners to score in the sixth. He then gave up four runs in the seventh inning to take the loss, with Binghamton starting the inning with four straight hits, including a home run from Corey Collins to seal the game.
Sean Sullivan made his season debut with Altoona in the eighth inning, tossing a scoreless frame with two strikeouts. The Curve offense tallied 14 hits in the defeat, with Delgado, Moss, Carmichael, and Jesus Castillo each finishing with a pair. Dumitru had three hits with two doubles in the loss, his 25th multi-hit game of the season.
Altoona continues its six-game series at Binghamton on Thursday night at 6:07 p.m. LHP Nick Dombkowski will start on the mound for the Curve with RHP Noah Hall slated to start for the Rumble Ponies.
For tickets and more information on the Altoona Curve, visit AltoonaCurve.com, call 877.99.CURVE or stop by the PNG Field box office. Additionally, the Stockyard Team Store is open Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., during every home game and online 24/7/365.