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Curve give up late lead

The Curve and Erie engaged in an offensive slugfest Sunday night at Peoples Natural Gas Field.

Despite trailing by three after seven innings, the SeaWolves came back and defeated Altoona, 7-6, thanks to a game-winning two-run home run from shortstop Ryan Kreidler in the ninth.

The teams split the six-game series.

The Curve jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in the first inning, but Erie slowly chipped away at the deficit before scoring a pair of runs in each of the final two innings. SeaWolves right fielder Dylan Rosa hit a two-run homer in the eighth, before Kreidler’s go-ahead blast in the ninth.

Players of the game

Rosa led the way for Erie on offense, going 3-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored. Along with the home run, he also hit a double.

Righty Jeff Passantino started on the mound for Altoona and tossed five innings, allowing three earned runs on five hits with five strikeouts.

“Regardless if he’s bringing his best stuff that night or not, he’s going to attack hitters,” Curve manager Miguel Perez said of Passantino. “I thought he did a good job (with) this outing.”

The five-inning no-decision tied Passantino’s longest start of the young season. He has not allowed more than three runs in any of his starts this season, and has a 3.00 ERA through the first month.

Right fielder Cal Mitchell had a strong day at the plate for Altoona, going 2-for-4 with two RBIs. Mitchell recorded a hit in each matchup against Erie and is currently riding a nine-game hitting streak.

“I came into the season feeling really good,” Mitchell said. “Now, I feel like I’m hitting a pretty good stride that I’m going to try and stay in for as long as I can.”

Mitchell ranks second among all Curve hitters with at least 40 at-bats in both batting average and on-base percentage. He has a .288 batting average and a .364 on-base percentage in 21 games.

“When it comes down to talking about plate discipline, he’s one of the guys that has been very consistent with it,” Perez said about Mitchell. “He’s a hard worker.”

Stats and stuff

Altoona reliever Will Gardner (1-2) was tabbed with the loss and the blown save. The righty allowed two earned runs on two hits in 1ª innings.

Erie right-hander Cale Coshow (2-0) earned the victory, hurling the final 2• innings. Coshow did not allow any hits or runs and struck out two.

The two teams combined for 20 hits, with the SeaWolves recording 12. The bottom four hitters in Erie’s lineup were responsible for nine of the 12 hits.

Saturday recap

The Curve split a doubleheader with Erie on Saturday night, winning the first game and then losing a nightcap that involved some late-inning drama at Peoples Natural Gas Field.

Altoona won the opener, 2-1, scoring both runs in the fourth inning. Oneil Cruz’s RBI double tied the game, and he scored on a go-ahead single by Rodolfo Castro.

Oddy Nunez (1-0) won in relief for Altoona, while Mark Leiter Jr. (1-2) took the loss. John O’Reilly earned his second save.

The Curve rallied from a 4-0 deficit to tie in game two. They were being no-hit in the sixth inning until Cruz and Mason Martin hit back-to-back home runs to pull even at 4-4.

Erie scored a run in the seventh to win, however, pulling ahead on an RBI single by Dylan Rosa off Yerry De Los Santos (3-2). Gerson Moreno (2-0) won for Erie.

How they scored

Bottom 1st: Cruz walked, Castro singled, both scored on Citta double (2-0); Martin hit by pitch, Citta doubled, both scored on Mitchell double (4-0).

Top 3rd: Rosoff singled, scored on Myers triple (4-1); Myers tripled, scored on Kenley single (4-2).

Top 4th: Rosa doubled, scored on Myers single (4-3).

Top 7th: Bae singled, scored on Cruz triple (5-3); Cruz tripled, scored on Castro sacrifice fly (6-3).

Top 8th: Lester walked, scored on Rosa two-run homer (6-5).

Top 9th: Greene doubled, scored on Kreidler two-run homer (6-7).

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