By Greg Williams
PA Director of Scouting

The Altoona Curve, the Eastern League AA Minor League affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates, will host the Curve Classic beginning Friday and ending on Sunday at Peoples Natural Gas Field.

  

The three day tournament begins tomorrow with four games slated to start at 10:00am. Saturday's action will pit losers of the four quarterfinal games in consolation games at 10:00am and 12:30pm followed by Friday's winners competing for a spot in Sunday's finals. Prep Baseball Report will be in attendance for all four games on each of the first two days of action.

                 Tournament schedule

Friday, April 11, 2014:
Quarterfinal #1, 10:00am (Bishop Guilfoyle vs. Bishop Carroll)
Quarterfinal #2, 12:30pm (Altoona vs. Clearfield)
Quarterfinal #3, 3:00pm (Central vs. Huntingdon)
Quarterfinal #4, 5:30pm (Hollidaysburg vs. Greater Latrobe)

Saturday April 12, 2014:
Quarterfinal Loser #1 vs. Quarterfinal Loser #3, 10:00am
Quarterfinal Loser #2 vs. Quarterfinal Loser #4, 12:30pm
Quarterfinal Winner #1 vs. Quarterfinal Winner #3, 3:00pm
Quarterfinal Winner #2 vs. Quarterfinal Winner #4, 5:30pm

Sunday, April 13, 2014:
2014 Championship Game - 1:00pm

                       Tourney preview

Game #1: Bishop Guilfoyle vs. Bishop Carroll

Bishop Guilfoyle is 0-3 in 2014 with two one-run losses including a 5-4 loss to Class A #1 Bishop McCort on Tuesday. '15 LHP/OF Derek Cursio (right), ranked No. 181 in the PA Class of 2015, is off to a solid start with the bat. The lefty is hitting at a .300 clip early in the 2014 season with a double and two RBI. Cursio sits in the low 80s with his fastball with command of a curveball, changeup mix of complimentary pitches.

Bishop Carroll is 1-2 to date with a 7-1 loss to Forest Hills and a 10-1 win at Central Cambria and an 11-0 loss to Bishop McCort being the only games they have managed to play this spring.

Game #2: Altoona vs. Clearfield

Altoona has been hampered by poor weather conditions thus far this spring. The Mountain Lions have logged a 16-2 win over fellow tournament participant Greater Latrobe and a 7-2 loss at the hands of Central Mountain. '14 Catcher Dylan Conrad (Pitt-Johnstown commit), '14 1B Colby Fink (US Merchant Marine Academy commit), '14 2B Joel Reighard,  '15 IF/RHP Ben Foose, '15 OF/RHP Zack Helsel and '15 IF/RHP John McGinley are all players to keep an eye on during the course of the tournament.

The Clearfield Bison are off to a 0-3 start including a tight 2-1 loss to the Central Dragons who are also playing in the Curve Classic. Cole Kephart (right), a 6-foot-1, 190-pound junior, is a three year starter with good size at 6-foot-1, 190-pounds.

The Bison also played an 11 inning affair with Penns Valley on Wednesday, but the game was suspended due to darkness with the game tied at six.

Game #3: Central vs. Huntingdon

The Central Dragons are off to a 6-0 start and the #6 spot in the PBR Super 16 Rankings in Class AA. 6-foot, 185-pound 1B Jay Stern is leading the offense to date with a .688 batting average, four doubles, 11 runs scored and 10 RBI. '15 RHP Mike Mock, 10-1 on the mound in his career, is off to a 2-0 start this spring with a 0.00 ERA. Mock has 14 strikeouts in just seven innings of work.

Huntingdon is currently 2-2 with a 7-6 win over Curve Classic participant Clearfield to their credit. '14 OF Tanner Cook (right) is the spark plug that makes the Bearcats' offense go. The Pitt-Johnstown recruit could also see the mound during the course of the tournament.

Game #4: Hollidaysburg vs. Greater Latrobe

The Hollidaysburg pitching staff has been dominant in 2014 even if they have only played one game. The Golden Tigers downed Central Mountain 2-1 on April 1 in their only contest to date. LHP Andy Crum, a Shippensburg University recruit, went the distance on the hill allowing one unearned run while striking out five and yielding just three hits. Crum also authored the lone hit for Hollidaysburg in their season opening win.

Greater Latrobe is 3-3 on the young season. '14 LHP/OF Josh Keefe (Coastal Carolina commit, right) and '15 1B Seth Holler are players to keep an eye on in the Wildcats' lineup. Greater Latrobe is the lone participant from District 7 (WPIAL) in the eight team field.

                        tourney tidbits

A complete wrap-up of quarterfinal, consolation and semifinal action will be posted on Saturday and Sunday. Additional scouting notes and measureable information on standout players during the course of the tournament will be available in the Pennsylvania Scout Blog.