The crowd of 6,003 on this cool September night were treated to a decent group pitching performance after Derek Hankins went out after 3 shutout innings with an apparent injury. Mike Colla came in and shut the door on the Reading Phillies, allowing only a 4th inning no-doubt homer. Colla pitched 4 much needed innings and got 4 K’s while not allowing a walk.
For the Curve, they scraped together a timely two-run 3rd inning with an RBI single from Jordy Mercer (2-4 on the night), followed by an RBI double from Matt Hague. 2010 Altoona Curve MVP Hector Gimenez (2-3) also had a double in the left field corner in the 6th inning to give the Curve the eventual game-winning run and a 3-1 lead.
The laconic crowd came to life when local favorite, Daniel Moskos came in to pitch the 9th inning, his 2nd of the night. Moskos routinely was touching the 96-97 MPH range, but was in general very wild. He balanced his 3 strikeouts by walking two batters and gave up a single to make the score 3-2 and cause a few folks to bite their fingernails. A shot up the middle looked like it may tie the score, but Chase d’Arnaud ranged far to his right and flipped underhand to Mercer to end the game.
The post-game ceremony, a rendition of Field of Dreams with James Earl Jones intoning over the PA system (and a stunt JEJ on the field) followed by fireworks, only completed the feel-good night.
