ALTOONA, PA - Luke Shliger delivered the biggest hit of the night with a three-run home run in the sixth inning to give the Erie SeaWolves (36-19, 72-51) a lead they would not relinquish in a 9-4 win against the Altoona Curve (22-32, 53-70) on Friday night.
Altoona started fast with a first-inning run against SeaWolves starter Kenny Serwa after the knuckleballer walked the first two hitters he faced. The Curve threatened to add multiple runs beyond the sacrifice fly as they loaded the bases with one out, but Serwa induced a double play to end the inning and avoid further damage.
Erie's offense got in on the action in the third inning against Altoona starter Dominic Pipkin. Seth Stephenson led off the inning with a walk and moved to third on an error from Pipkin on a pickoff attempt. After Peyton Graham walked, Stephenson scored on a double play to tie the game.
The deadlock didn't last long as Murf Gray hit his seventh homer with the Curve and 30th of the season to restore Altoona's one-run lead in the third. Serwa fell behind the next hitter in the order but got back-to-back groundouts to end the inning.
Once again, the SeaWolves had a response. Shliger singled in the fourth inning and stole a base against Curve reliever Po-Yu Chen and scored on a single from Viandel Pena to tie the game at two.
The seesaw action continued in the bottom half when Lonnie White Jr. launched a leadoff home run to give Altoona a 3-2 advantage.
Serwa locked it down following the home run, keeping Altoona off the board in the fifth and setting up the SeaWolves' bats for a much-needed rally.
Chen left the game after hitting both Thayron Liranzo and Izaac Pacheco to start the inning. Altoona turned to Jaycob Deese, who entered with a 0.52 ERA over his past 11 outings. That number would quickly rise as Shliger launched a fastball over the right-field wall to give the SeaWolves their first lead since late Tuesday night. Seth Stephenson doubled later in the inning and scored on a single from Peyton Graham.
Serwa exited the game after 5.2 innings of work, leaving with the tying run at the plate in the sixth. Johan Simon entered and picked up a strikeout to end the inning and keep the Curve off the board.
Altoona fought back in the seventh after Simon walked the first two hitters of the inning. Dariel Fregio entered from the bullpen and allowed one of the two inherited runners to score on a groundout but used a strikeout and a groundout to escape the inning with a two-run lead.
Erie kept the train moving in the eighth inning by bringing across three runs on singles from Peyton Graham, Zyhir Hope and Izaac Pacheco. Hope posted a three-hit night in the win, his second three-plus-hit game with the SeaWolves.
Fregio slammed the door with scoreless innings in each of the final two frames to secure the win. The SeaWolves are back in action Saturday night with left-hander Joe Miller on the mound. First pitch is set for 6:00 PM.
Single-game tickets, suites, picnics, The Club by Synchrony events, and Bud Light Party Deck groups are now available by visiting SeaWolves.com, calling 814-456-1300, or visiting the UPMC Park Box Office in person.