Altoona Curve 10, �Akron Aeros 3 (box)
LF Alex Presley was a man on fire for the Curve, as he led the team with a triple and a homer, accounting for 5 RBI in Akron. �The Curve recorded 10 hits on their way to 10 runs, and CF Gorkys Hernandez and DH Jim Negrych also had 2 hits each. �After two quiet innings, the Curve got busy in the 3rd, when 1B Matt Hague led off with a single, and Presley tripled him in. �A walk to Negrych and an RBI single by RF Miles Durham brought in Presley with the second run.
Akron responded in kind: �a lead-off single, followed by a triple, off Curve starter Mike Crotta. The similarity ended there. �Crotta got the next three batters out, and the Curve had a 2-1 lead. �They made it 5-1 in the top of the 4th. �C Hector Gimenez walked and stole second, and 2B Josh Harrison also walked. �That brought up Presley, who cleared the bases with a 3-run homer, his first of the season (he hit 4 last year and 6 the year before with Lynchburg).
The Aeros came right back with 2 runs in the bottom of the inning. �Two doubles and two singles made it 5-3. �It was all Curve after that, though. �In the top of the 5th, a fielding error put Miles Durham on base, and a second error on a double by 3B Jordy Mercer brought Durham in to score. �The Aeros brought in a reliever but he gave up three consecutive walks (Gimenez, Harrison, and Hague) to force in a run. �Mr. RBI, Alex Presley, grounded to short, forcing an out at second, but still brining Gimenez across the plate. �Gorkys Hernandez drove in the fourth run of the inning when he also grounded out. � Altoona added one more run in the 6th, on four more consecutive walks, off a different relief pitcher. �In both innings, Matt Hague was the batter whose walk forced in a run.
After the 4th inning, Mike Crotta settled down on the mound for the 5th and 6th innings. �When he began the 7th with a fly out and two singles, he was relieved by Ronald Uviedo. Crotta eventually took the win, his second of the season, allowing only those 3 runs on 9 hits, no walks, and with 2 strikeouts. �That outing raised his ERA to 1.86. �Uviedo finished the 7th with a strikeout and a fly out, then retired the side in order in the 8th. �Jeff Sues pitched a scoreless 9th, allowing only a lone single.
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The West Virginia Power’s game against the Asheville Tourists scheduled for Monday night was postponed. �A broken irrigation system made the field conditions at Appalachian Power Park unsafe for play — the first base line was flooded. �The game will be rescheduled for June, in Asheville. �The irrigation problem is expected to be fixed in time for Tuesday’s game.
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