Aeros Sneak Past Phillies, 7-6
June 29, 2008 - Eastern League (EL1)
Akron RubberDucks News Release
AKRON, OH - The Aeros survived a ninth-inning scare to win a 7-6, back-and-forth contest over Reading before 3,691 fans at Canal Park Sunday afternoon. The Aeros improved to 49-32 and claimed the series victory, while Reading fell to 31-49. Akron also won its 20th game of the month, reaching the 20-win plateau for just the sixth time in franchise history (and the first time since August of 2005).
The Aeros put up a 2-0 lead in the bottom of third inning as Jose Constanza bunted for a single with one down and Trevor Crowe tripled off the wall in right-center to drive him home. Josh Rodriguez followed with an RBI groundout for the second run.
Reading took the lead in the fifth with three runs on just one hit off Akron starter Steven Wright, who had faced one batter over the minimum to that point. Joey Hammond and Luke Appert walked in the inning, and Neil Sellers pounded a 3-1 mistake into the bullpen to take the 3-2 lead. In the bottom half of the fifth, however, Akron strung together four straight singles, including RBI hits from Matt Whitney and Stephen Head, to retake the lead at 4-3. Reading, though, tied the game in the top of the sixth on an RBI single by Jeremy Slayden.
In the bottom of the sixth, Constanza doubled down the right-field line and Crowe and Rodriguez each drew walks to load bases with no outs. Bronson Sardinha then drew the third straight walk to score Constanza to give Akron a 5-4 lead, and Whitney followed with a sacrifice fly to right to make it 6-4. Crowe then led off the eighth with a line-drive home run, giving closer Randy Newsom a 7-4 lead to work with in the top of the ninth.
Newsom would need Crowe's insurance as the first three batters reached off him to load the bases. The sidewinder buckled down though, getting Appert to ground into a 4-6-3 double play as a run scored. Sellers followed with an RBI infield single in the hole between first and second, but Newsom struck out Kevin Nelson to end the game.
J.D. Martin (7-3) earned the win with 2.2 innings of scoreless, two-hit relief while striking out three. Tyson Brummett (1-1) took the loss, allowing six runs on eight hits in 5.1 innings. Newsom nailed down his league-leading 23rd save, which ties Wilmer Montoya's franchise record for saves in a season. Wright worked 5.1 innings, allowing four runs on four hits, walking three and striking out three.
The Aeros hit the road for an eight-game, two-city road trip beginning Monday night with a 7:05 p.m. game against the Erie SeaWolves. Akron will likely activate Frank Herrmann (7-3, 5.08 ERA) to make the start against Erie's Ben Fritz (2-3, 5.63 ERA). Akron does not return home until July 8th when they begin a three-game series against Bowie. The game broadcast begins at 6:50 p.m. on SportsRadio 1350 AM and online at www.akronaeros.com. For more information, please call the Aeros at (330) 253-5151.
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