Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski Curve reliever Alessandro Ercolani.

Alessandro Ercolani pitched 5 2/3 strong innings for the Altoona Curve in a 8-4 loss to the Reading Fightin’ Phils Thursday night in front of 3,768 fans at PNG Field.

Ercolani might have been on the mound for the Curve Thursday night, but earlier this week he returned to the first place he ever visited in America, Williamsport, Pennsylvania and the Little League World Series.

He played for the Europe-Africa team who hailed from Emilia, Italy in the 2016 rendition of the Little League World Series which is where his professional aspirations began to take flight.

“Playing in the Little League World Series was the first thing that made me turn on my brain and say, maybe this can be my future job,” Ercolani said.

Those thoughts and dreams came true when the Pirates signed him as an international free agent in 2021.

Ercolani has since worked his way up the ladder in the organization to Altoona where he has spent the 2025 season. Hours away from Williamsport, Ercolani was able to go back in time and remember what it felt like to be a kid again with his trip on Monday.

“I felt just like a kid again,” Ercolani said. “When I went there, I just felt like the 12-year- old I once was and just trying to feel everything in the same sensation like when I was there before, see the field and remember what we used to be and that was something really cool.”

When he and his teammates first arrived in Williamsport in 2016, it was unlike anything they’d have been a part of in their careers.

“It was something crazy, like something I had never seen before,” Ercolani recalled. “When I went, there was the game, so I tried to recall everything from when I was a player. And I kind of felt the same thing when I saw the field, all the people, the young people playing and having fun.”

The 21-year old righty from Borgo Maggiore, San Martino was one of those kids who had fun especially staying in the village at the Little League complex.

“I remember just arriving at the village where we were sleeping and everything, and just playing around with all the people from every country. Being from Italy we were all just trying to speak Italian, and then tried to speak some English, some Chinese, some whatever.”

Baseball has forever been a game that has transcended barriers much like the language one Ercolani and his teammates endured when they came to America. Now, Ercolani is focused on continuing to rise through the Pirates organization and reach the Majors, something he’s dreamt of since his time at the Little League World Series.

And if a player at the Little League World Series were to ask him how he would get there, his message is pretty simple.

“Have fun is the first thing whenever you are playing baseball,” Ercolani said. “You have to win at certain points, but the first thing is to have fun, and if you have fun, you’re going to play really well and you’re going to be a good teammate so you just have fun and just keep working.”

New guys

The Curve rally might have fallen short in the ninth inning Thursday night, but it gives Altoona manager Andy Fox an opportunity to see growth despite not getting a victory.

“We got shut down for the whole game,” Fox said. “We had opportunities and couldn’t cash in, but to get something going in the ninth and have them use an extra reliever when you play a long series, that’s big.”

Two recent callups, Konnor Griffin and Dylan Berg, were big parts of the Curve’s hit parade with Griffin getting three hits and an RBI and Berg hitting a double, single and scoring a run.

“Coming to a new level you’re always hopeful guys get off to a nice start,” Fox said. “Konnor had a good night tonight. And Berg, for not playing for a couple days, comes in and contributes.”

Mitch Jebb and Duce Gourson also added multiple hits in the loss with three hits and two hits apiece.

The long ball

Four of the eight runs scored by the Fightin’ Phils came via the long ball. Aidan Miller hit two and recorded three RBI while Leandro Pineda chipped in a solo home run and three RBIs.

Reading also recorded three doubles against Altoona pitchers.