Gourson

The Altoona Curve plated four runs in a second-inning rally to boost the team to a series-opening victory over the Erie SeaWolves on Tuesday night, 4-2, at Peoples Natural Gas Field.

The four-run second inning saw five stolen bases and three hits as Duce Gourson highlighted the frame with a bases-clearing single paired with an Erie throwing error to score three.

The inning started with an Omar Alfonzo double, which was followed by a Titus Dumitru single to score Alfonzo to plate the game’s first run.

Matt Ager earned his second win in as many appearances with a five-inning outing in his season debut as a starter. The 22-year-old righty struck out three and allowed just two runs on four hits and a walk. Ager fired a season-high 71 pitches in his first start with Altoona.

The Curve bullpen combined to toss four scoreless, hitless innings with three different arms. Josh Loeschorn spun the sixth marking back-to-back scoreless outings. Noah Murdock retired all six Erie batters he faced in the seventh and eighth innings via one punchout, three groundouts and two flyouts. Alessandro Ercolani shut the door in the ninth as he notched his first save of his minor league career.

Altoona swiped a season-high six stolen bases in the win. Lonnie White Jr. contributed two of the six bags as he walked three times.

With another errorless performance in the field for Altoona, the Curve have now gone 11 consecutive games without committing a fielding error.

With the four runs scored in the game, Curve fans can get 50% off a regular menu priced pizza at Papa John’s on Monday with the promo code CURVE50.

Altoona continues a six-game series with the Erie SeaWolves, Double-a affiliate of the Detroit Tigers, on Wednesday morning at 11:00 a.m. RHP Khristian Curtis takes the ball for the Curve with LHP Joe Miller on the mound for Altoona.