The Altoona Curve rode a seven-run sixth inning to an 11-5 victory over the Erie SeaWolves in Game 1 of the Eastern League Division best-of-3 series at PNG Field Tuesday night.

Altoona, which plays Game 2 on Thursday at Erie, took an early 1-0 lead when Esmerlyn Valdez put a ball just inside the right field foul pole in the second inning for a home run.

Erie answered in the third inning when it plated four runs off starting pitcher Wilber Dotel. The righty walked one and hit one in the inning, but the damage was done on Josue Briceno’s home run to give the SeaWolves a 4-1 lead.

“We weren’t able to limit the damage there in that third inning,” Curve manager Andy Fox said. “But the bullpen did a great job keeping it where it was and giving us a chance to get back in.”

09/16/25 Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski / Curve's Esmerlyn Valdez is greeted by Omar Alfonzo after his home run on a line drive to right field in the second inning.

The bullpen hurled six innings of one-run baseball to allow Altoona to do just what Fox wanted, which came in the form of a seven-run sixth inning.

“Even just last week when we played them, I think we trailed in almost or we led in almost every game, and then they happened to come and make comebacks,” Altoona’s Duce Gourson said. “We just tried to stay consistent, just trying to keep the foot on the pedal and not let up.”

And that’s exactly what they did. With one out, Gourson got the rally going with a double off the wall in right field. He advanced to third with Erie outfielder Ben Malgeri dropping the ball.

“We were just trying to get something going, chasing three heading into that inning, just trying to get on base and it happened to be for extra bases,” Gourson said. “Really, I was just trying to get the team going, just offensively, just get some runs on the board and get people on.”

Including Gourson, six straight Altoona hitters reached base. Gourson scored on a single by Nick Cimillo. Termarr Johnson roped a double to center field to set up second and third with one out for Valdez.

Valdez hit a two-run single which scored both Cimillo and Johnson to tie the game at 4-4. Valdez advanced to second on an error and a fielder’s choice by Erie second baseman Carlos Mendoza, which allowed Omar Alfonso to reach on the play.

Both Valdez and Alfonso advanced on a single by Tres Gonzales, which loaded the bases with one away for Javier Rivas.

Rivas struck out for the second out of the inning, but Mitch Jebb came through with an RBI single to score Valdez to give the Curve a 5-4 lead.

That single set the stage for Konnor Griffin to clear the bases with a ball that didn’t leave the infield as SeaWolves third baseman John Peck threw the ball into foul territory.

Griffin was credited with an RBI single while two runs scored on the error, but that pushed the score to 8-4. Erie scored a run in the seventh to cut the lead to 8-5.

Altoona answered with three more runs in the seventh to give the Curve an 11-5 cushion en route to the win and a 1-0 lead in the series.

“It was cool just to score those runs,” Griffin said. “We needed them pretty badly and then to hear the crowd go crazy like it just gives me chills thinking about it. It was a great night.”

Young Bucs

Both Griffin and Valdez had three hits for Altoona with Valdez scoring three times along with five RBI.

Johnson added two hits and two runs scored to help pace the Curve offense. It continued a hot streak for Johnson where he’s now gone 16-for-45 in his last 15 games.

“You’re talking about a 21-year- old in Double-A learning the level, developing some consistency, an approach and everything that it takes to be a competitive player at this level,” Fox said.

Bullpen tough

The Curve bullpen did not disappoint.

Logan Thompkins threw the fourth and fifth innings and didn’t allow a base runner, while Michael Walsh struck out three over the sixth and seventh innings, but allowed a hit and a run.

Tyler Samaniego slammed the door in the eighth and ninth to finish off the SeaWolves. He struck out two and walked one.

“It was all about the bullpen,” Fox said. “I mean, honestly, keeping it where it was at and you obviously don’t want to give up four, but we were able to kind of limit damage and keep going. We were able to tack on and kept tacking on.”

Up next

The Curve will head to Erie for game two on Thursday and if necessary, game three of the series will be on Friday. Righty Antwone Kelly will take the mound for Altoona.

Kelly is 2-2 with a 3.00 ERA in 11 games for the Curve this season. He went 1.2 innings and allowed a run on two hits and two walks against the SeaWolves last week in Erie.