Events Calendar
In This Section
Most Read Stories
NFL star Chris Spielman's wife loses cancer battle
Man found dead in North Akron home is identified
Dad accused of forcing son into field, killing him
Coventry man killed in crash at I-77 ramp
Poor machine maintenance blamed for fire at Akron business
College student mistaken for deer, shot to death
Indians add 7 players to 40-man roster
Man allegedly paid teens to spit in his face
Body with gunshot wounds found in Canton Township creek
Blogs:
Pets:
Sick Pets Get High-tech Health Care
The Heldenfiles:
Friday Night Notebook
Patrick McManamon:
The proposed new LeBron mural doesn't do it for me
Akron Zips:
Two blowouts, one night
Tribe Matters:
Seven players added to Tribe’s 40-man roster
Cleveland Browns:
Hey, somebody's gotta stick up for the Browns
Kent State Sports:
Singletary update
Cleveland Cavaliers:
Gameblog: Cavs at Indiana Pacers – Here’s to LBJ and Free Throws
Buckeye Blogging:
OSU – Michigan college football rivals meet in Baghdad
Varsity Letters:
Bowling season starts today
All Da King's Men:
Attention Haters, Palin And Hannity Together
Blog of Mass Destruction:
Muslim McCarthyism & Death Prayers
Akron Law Café:
Federal Judge Declares DOMA Unconstitutional
See Jane Style:
Vintage Chic
Car Chase:
TIME TO GET YOUR COLLECTOR CARS WINTERIZED
Let's Talk Real Estate:
Silverdome Potentially SOLD!
Ohio Travels with Betty:
Norma asks if Barkitecture is still at Stan Hywet.
Sound Check:
Steely Dan Plays "The Royal Scam" at E.J. Thomas Hall
HRLite House:
Colloquium at University of Akron
Akron Gamer:
Nintendo's Mario endures even as games come and go
By Stephanie Storm
Beacon Journal staff writer
POSTED: 11:46 p.m. EDT, Sep 19, 2009
A five-run fourth inning was the spark the Aeros needed to claim their third Eastern League Championship title in seven years Saturday night at Canal Park.
Fittingly, it was a Carlos Santana two-run home run an inning later that provided the big blow that clinched the outcome early. Santana, the Eastern League Most Valuable Player piled on with a moon-shot that cleared the right-field bleachers and gave the Aeros an insurmountable seven-run advantage and ultimate 10-6 victory over the Connecticut Defenders in Game 4 of the championship series.
''It's been a real special year for myself and all these guys,'' Aeros manager Mike Sarbaugh said. ''What a super group of guys. Every time new guys came up, they bought right in and helped us out.''
The tone of the night was set by Aeros starting pitcher Scott Barnes, who was facing some of his former teammates for the second time after being sent to the Cleveland organization in the trade that sent Ryan Garko to the San Francisco Giants.
Ironically, Barnes made both his Aeros and Double-A debut Aug. 12 at Connecticut's Dodd Stadium, where he held the Defenders to two runs in five innings.
Had Barnes not been traded, he probably would have been pitching for the Defenders against the Aeros in the finals.
Instead, he took the mound wearing a purple Aeros jersey and went on to earn the win. Despite an 11-day layoff, Barnes limited the Defenders to two unearned runs on two hits and struck out seven in five innings.
''You couldn't have asked for a better performance out of Scott,'' Sarbaugh said. ''He threw awesome, especially coming of an 11-day layoff.''
Opposing Barnes (who was originally selected in the eighth round of the 2008 draft out of St. John's University) on the mound was Defenders starter and fellow lefty Ari Ronick, who was making just his second start at the Double-A level after being called up from low Class-A Augusta.
Ronick, the parent-club Giants' 12th-round pick also from the the 2008 draft class, didn't fare as well Saturday as he did in his debut last week against the New Britain Rock Cats when he pitched the Defenders into the Eastern League finals.
Against the Aeros, Ronick wasn't nearly as sharp. He lasted just three-plus innings, giving up five runs on six hits and three walks to take the loss.
The Aeros scored first with a run in the bottom of the second inning thanks to two walks issued by Ronick and an RBI-double by Jose Constanza. The Aeros came right back with another run in the second to take a two-run lead aided by an error.
It was two Aeros errors on the same play in the fourth inning that gift-wrapped two Defenders runs in the fourth inning and tied the game. With two outs, Barnes issued his first walk of the night to Eddy Martinez-Esteve and Brad Boyer followed with a single up the middle.
Castro then slapped a routine ground ball to Aeros third baseman Lonnie Chisenhall, who threw the ball wide to second base on what should have been the inning-ending force out.
But the ball ended up in shallow right field, where an overanxious John Drennen tried to get Boyer advancing to third. But Drennen put way too much on his throw, and it sailed into the stands and allowed Boyer to trot home.
Drennen made up for his mistake in the bottom of the inning when he sent Ronick's first pitch into the bleachers beyond the right-field wall to give the Aeros the lead again.
The home run not only ended Ronick's night, but it also sparked a five-run inning in which the Aeros took a 7-2 lead. The Aeros sent 11 men to the plate in the inning.
''It just imploded on us,'' Defenders manager Steve Decker said. ''Once they got the momentum going, we couldn't stop them.''
After Santana's two-run homer made it 9-2, the Aeros added one more insurance run in the sixth inning on a Constanza RBI single.
The Defenders scored two in the eighth and two in the ninth but it was little too late.
Stephanie Storm can be reached at sstorm@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Indians and Aeros blog at http://www.ohio.com/tribematters.
A five-run fourth inning was the spark the Aeros needed to claim their third Eastern League Championship title in seven years Saturday night at Canal Park.
Fittingly, it was a Carlos Santana two-run home run an inning later that provided the big blow that clinched the outcome early. Santana, the Eastern League Most Valuable Player piled on with a moon-shot that cleared the right-field bleachers and gave the Aeros an insurmountable seven-run advantage and ultimate 10-6 victory over the Connecticut Defenders in Game 4 of the championship series.
''It's been a real special year for myself and all these guys,'' Aeros manager Mike Sarbaugh said. ''What a super group of guys. Every time new guys came up, they bought right in and helped us out.''
The tone of the night was set by Aeros starting pitcher Scott Barnes, who was facing some of his former teammates for the second time after being sent to the Cleveland organization in the trade that sent Ryan Garko to the San Francisco Giants.
Ironically, Barnes made both his Aeros and Double-A debut Aug. 12 at Connecticut's Dodd Stadium, where he held the Defenders to two runs in five innings.
Had Barnes not been traded, he probably would have been pitching for the Defenders against the Aeros in the finals.
Instead, he took the mound wearing a purple Aeros jersey and went on to earn the win. Despite an 11-day layoff, Barnes limited the Defenders to two unearned runs on two hits and struck out seven in five innings.
''You couldn't have asked for a better performance out of Scott,'' Sarbaugh said. ''He threw awesome, especially coming of an 11-day layoff.''
Opposing Barnes (who was originally selected in the eighth round of the 2008 draft out of St. John's University) on the mound was Defenders starter and fellow lefty Ari Ronick, who was making just his second start at the Double-A level after being called up from low Class-A Augusta.
Ronick, the parent-club Giants' 12th-round pick also from the the 2008 draft class, didn't fare as well Saturday as he did in his debut last week against the New Britain Rock Cats when he pitched the Defenders into the Eastern League finals.
Against the Aeros, Ronick wasn't nearly as sharp. He lasted just three-plus innings, giving up five runs on six hits and three walks to take the loss.
The Aeros scored first with a run in the bottom of the second inning thanks to two walks issued by Ronick and an RBI-double by Jose Constanza. The Aeros came right back with another run in the second to take a two-run lead aided by an error.
It was two Aeros errors on the same play in the fourth inning that gift-wrapped two Defenders runs in the fourth inning and tied the game. With two outs, Barnes issued his first walk of the night to Eddy Martinez-Esteve and Brad Boyer followed with a single up the middle.
Castro then slapped a routine ground ball to Aeros third baseman Lonnie Chisenhall, who threw the ball wide to second base on what should have been the inning-ending force out.
But the ball ended up in shallow right field, where an overanxious John Drennen tried to get Boyer advancing to third. But Drennen put way too much on his throw, and it sailed into the stands and allowed Boyer to trot home.
Drennen made up for his mistake in the bottom of the inning when he sent Ronick's first pitch into the bleachers beyond the right-field wall to give the Aeros the lead again.
The home run not only ended Ronick's night, but it also sparked a five-run inning in which the Aeros took a 7-2 lead. The Aeros sent 11 men to the plate in the inning.
''It just imploded on us,'' Defenders manager Steve Decker said. ''Once they got the momentum going, we couldn't stop them.''
After Santana's two-run homer made it 9-2, the Aeros added one more insurance run in the sixth inning on a Constanza RBI single.
The Defenders scored two in the eighth and two in the ninth but it was little too late.
Stephanie Storm can be reached at sstorm@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Indians and Aeros blog at http://www.ohio.com/tribematters.
Comments
Click here to post your comments
Doylestown, OH
Posted 04:12 AM, 09/20/2009
Good recap, Stephanie......just wish the ABJ would give you more column inches (I will be calling and emailing AGAIN). Hope to see some pics of the Aeros on the front page in the morning instead of LeBron and his book signing. (And I don't have anything against LeBron)
It was an AWESOME game (as was the game on Fri, even though we lost) and the people of the area should really come out and support these young guys....if you have kids, come on out next season (the players are GREAT and accessible and love their fans), if you don't have kids, come on out anyhow and support our local team. These guys are the future of baseball, and it is really cool to get to see them before they get to "THE SHOW".
It is an absolute shame that there were not more people to support these guys in the Championship series (only paid attendance of 4252 on Friday and 3275 on Saturday when they won the Championship)...
.....if you look at the percentages of what the Indians had at their last home stand vs. what the Aeros had for their last 2 games of the season (and may I remind you, the Indians were no where near involved in any playoffs, let alone a Championship) -- the Indians still had 10% attendance over the Aeros.
Is that because they are the "major league" team?? I just have to wonder, who is more "major league", the team who wins the Championship or the team who has no hope..........
Eastlake, oh
Posted 07:02 AM, 09/20/2009
Way to go Aeros! You deserved by going wire to wire the whole year. Congrats!
Akron, OH
Posted 07:44 AM, 09/20/2009
Great job Aeros!
You are one of the few things in this city that shows a return on the taxpayer dollars that have been invested.
Posted 07:56 AM, 09/20/2009
AKRON Aeros have a championship! Way to go Aeros! Take notice Browns, Cavs and Indians!
akron, oh
Posted 08:20 AM, 09/20/2009
Guess that by having 3 championship trophy's won't get us MORE front page coverage, or more , larger color pictures. At least at Canal Park, kids don't have to stand in line for hours to get an autograph from REAL stars who play in heat, cold, rain. The same players who travel by bus over night to go from city to city. to "Retired"--Cleveland teams wouldn't know how to act if they won a championship!
copley, oh
Posted 08:41 AM, 09/20/2009
Congrats AEROS hope none of them get traded in a couple of years.They are the best team in Ohio year in and year out.Best place to watch a baseball game to.And the only baseball team in the Cleveland Akron area.
Akron, OH
Posted 10:18 AM, 09/20/2009
I had no idea! Congrats!
Akron, Oh
Posted 12:20 PM, 09/20/2009
CONGRATS AEROS!
Suwanee, ga
Posted 12:46 PM, 09/20/2009
Overtaxed Voter you sound like a broken record. A great momemt for Akron Aeros and you have to bring in politics. Shame on you.
Canton, OH
Posted 03:11 PM, 09/20/2009
sweet
Akron, OH
Posted 03:23 PM, 09/20/2009
Cry me a river "Suwanee, Ga".
Is your avatar a picture of you or one of your kids?
Akron, OH
Posted 06:16 PM, 09/20/2009
The Aeros have a better team philosophy than their "big Brothers" the Indians . . . which is a shame. It all comes from the leaders.
Shapiro will continue to run the Indians into last place - just swap teams and see what happens. He reminds of Ralph Malph from "Happy Days" . . . runs his mouth and nothing comes out but drool!
Posted 08:00 PM, 09/20/2009
Congrats Guys!!!
Doylestown, OH
Posted 10:45 PM, 09/20/2009
Square West......you had no idea, because even though we have a Championship team in Akron, the ABJ spends more column inches on what is going on in Cleveland than in Akron...it's a da#n shame
Broadview Heights, OH
Posted 12:11 AM, 09/21/2009
Congratulations to the Aeros. I also think the Aeros should get MORE press. Especially on the day they WIN the Eastern League championship. The Plain Dealer barely acknowledged the win. Also, where is the tv coverage? For once, the northeast Ohio area has a WINNING team, and the press doesn't seem interested. It's a shame. I was at both home games, and the crowds that attended were "real" baseball fans. People that really love the game, not people who are there to be seen and just to eat. Thanks to the Akron Beacon Journal for the coverage. Without you, there is nothing for the Aeros!
akron, oh
Posted 07:33 AM, 09/21/2009
Square, you have no idea about everything. Way to go Aeros. You wont see the Don around for congratuations, he is in Germany.
