From the Altoona Curve:
Duce Gourson’s RBI double in the bottom of the ninth scored Mitch Jebb from second base to send Altoona to a 6-5 walk-off win in front of 4,733 fans at Peoples Natural Gas Field on Saturday night. Altoona has earned a series win over the RubberDucks with the win and will go for the sweep on Sunday night.
Altoona built a 5-1 lead in the first three innings on the strength of a two-run homer and a two-run triple off the bat of Nick Cimillo. Cimillo reached base safely in each of his first three plate appearances after he drew a walk to leadoff the fifth inning.
Gourson, who recorded his third straight multi-hit game in the win, went 3-for-4 with a hit by pitch out of the leadoff spot in the order. Jebb added a two-hit game to aid a 10-hit attack for the Curve.
On the mound, righty Antwone Kelly tossed five innings of two-run ball in his home debut, allowing two hits and two walks, with four strikeouts. Akron rallied back into the game with two unearned runs off Brandon Bidois in the seventh inning and tied the game on an RBI triple from Joe Lampe in the eighth inning. Ryan Harbin and Bidois both failed to strike out a batter in their respective outings, the first time all season that both pitchers appeared in the same game with Greensboro and Altoona and neither recorded a strikeout.
Beau Burrows earned the win with a 1-2-3 ninth inning on the mound for Altoona. Burrows has a 0.49 ERA (1 ER / 18.1 IP) in 18.1 innings with Altoona and has held opponents to a 0.60 WHIP since joining the Curve on June 7.
The Curve wraps up their series with the Akron RubberDucks on Sunday night at 6:00 p.m. RHP Wilber Dotel takes the ball for the Curve with RHP Rorik Maltrud slated to start for the RubberDucks.
