The Result
Aeros - 7 runs to 0

The Curve - Year-to-Date
46 won and 33 lost

Brett's Position and the Batting Order
Playing - First base
Batting - #4
---------------Replaced at the start of the ninth innings

At the end of the Game
1 hit from 3 at-bats - single

Brett's at-bats
First at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Led off the innings
"That is hit into the hole at shortstop and the Aeros fielder moves across to his right and makes a great play to get Roneberg out by a step at first base"
Ground out to shortstop - 6 to 3
Second at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Bases empty - two down
Ball - downstairs
"That pitch is chopped down the first base line and it's taken by the fielder who steps on the bag in front of Roneberg for the final out of the innings"
Ground out to first base - PO3
Third at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Led off the innings
Foul ball - 95mph fast ball - at home plate
Foul ball - 96mph fast ball - back behind
Ball - breaking ball - downstairs
Foul ball - down the left side
Ball
Ball - 97mph fastball
"Roneberg hits that sharply into the hole at shortstop and the fielder makes a great effort to get over and get it but his throw to first base is high and drags the fielder off the base and Roneberg is safe at first base with what will be ruled an infield single"
Single to shortstop
Out at second base on a fielder's choice play

Heard during the game

Email from Brett

Game Reports

Akron starter Adam Miller showed why he is so highly regarded by the Cleveland Indians organization, twirling a three-hitter over seven innings as the Aeros defeated the Curve 7-0 at Blair County Ballpark on Saturday night

A season-high crowd of 8,814 was on hand to see the first of three consecutive fireworks shows to celebrate Independence Day weekend

The Altoona Curve did not earn their first hit of the ballgame off of the top-rated Indians’ prospect until there was one out in the fifth inning, and the Aeros were already out in front 3-0

The Aeros scored two runs in the third inning and never trailed, handing the Curve its fifth shutout loss of the season

Curve starter Wardell Starling dropped his first decision of the season for Altoona, allowing three earned runs on six hits in five innings

The Aeros got on the scoreboard in the third inning, scoring twice off of a double by Ryan Goleski

Akron would add two unearned runs off of reliever Chris Hernandez when Javier Guzman let a ground ball go through his legs at second base in the sixth inning

Derrik Moeves came out of the bullpen for the Curve and allowed two more scores for Akron to provide the final margin of victory for the first-place Aeros

Miller earned his eighth victory of the year and improved to 3-2 against the Curve with seven shutout innings, allowing just three hits and striking out four batters

Altoona’s best chance to score came in the fifth inning when Ray Sadler and Dave Parrish collected back-to-back singles, the first hits of the game for the Curve
Altoona would have runners at second and third, but Milver Reyes grounded out to the shortstop to end the inning

The Curve advanced just one runner as far as second base for the remainder of the game

The Curve and Aeros will play again on Sunday night, continuing their four-game series at Blair County Ballpark at 6.05pm
Shane Youman will start for the Curve against the Aeros’ Sean Smith

The game will be followed by a fireworks show presented by S&T Bank

Adam Miller tossed seven strong innings, leading Akron to a 7-0 blanking of Altoona on Saturday

Miller (8-5) yielded just three hits and a walk with four strikeouts
The Cleveland Indians' No. 1 prospect, according to Baseball America, he didn't allow a hit until Ray Sadler's infield single with one out in the fifth
Miller improved to 3-2 against the Curve this season
The 21-year-old right-hander has won four of his last five decisions and has allowed twelve earned runs over the last fourty-three innings, a span of seven starts

Tony Sipp allowed a hit and struck out one over the final two innings to preserve the shutout for the Aeros (51-29)

Ryan Goleski opened the scoring for Akron with a two-run double in the third

Eider Torres drove in two runs and Nathan Panther added two hits, an RBI and a run scored as part of the Aeros' eleven hit attack

Wardell Starling (1-1) yielded three runs on six hits, walked three and struck out two over five innings for the Curve (46-33)

A season-high crowd of 8,814 came out to Blair County Ballpark for the first of three consecutive fireworks shows

It always seems to come down to the Curve v Akron in the standings, and on a larger scale, the Pirates v Indians organizations

“It seems like every year, our organization and their organization are always at the top at each level, whether it’s the Carolina League or Eastern League or International League” Akron third baseman Pat Osborn said
“They put out a good product, just like we do”

Both organizations have similar philosophies when it comes to developing their minor league clubs
The Pirates and Indians not only draft well and have solid instruction, they also place a premium on winning in the minors

Akron is battling for its second straight Southern Division regular-season title and, with Saturday night’s 7-0 win, stretched its lead over Altoona to 4-1/2 games
The Curve have a leg up in the battle for the division’s wild-card spot and are looking for their fourth straight trip to the playoffs

With two games remaining in this series, though, Altoona’s first goal is to try and slice into Akron’s lead

“We split the first two games here, and the next two games are huge” Curve first baseman Brett Roneberg said
“If we can win both of them it would be unbelievable”

Akron rode pitcher Adam Miller’s dominant performance to the easy win Saturday before 8,814 fans, the fifth-largest crowd ever at Blair County Ballpark
Miller (8-5) allowed three hits over seven shutout innings, struck out four and walked one
The right-hander is the Indians’ No. 1 prospect, reached the Carolina League playoffs last season with Kinston and is a big reason why Akron sits atop the Southern Division

“It’s definitely important” Miller said of his organization’s winning mentality
“You don’t want to go every season on a losing team
It’s great to come in and start winning and have a chance to win a ring every year”

The Aeros are in search of their third Eastern League ring in four years, having also won in 2003 and 2005
They eliminated the Curve in the playoffs each of their two championship seasons

The two teams have nine meetings left this season, so there will be plenty of chances for each to make up ground in the standings

“We definitely know they’re right on our tail, and it forces us to play good baseball night in and night out because if we don’t, they’re a good team and they’re capable of catching us” Osborn said
“They’re a good team, we’re a good team
There’s never really a random-type game
You kind of know what to expect, and it’s going to be a battle, a dogfight for nine innings”

Ironically, Curve manager Tim Leiper used the same word as Osborn when talking about the rivalry between the Pirates and Indians organizations
“This is good baseball; it’s a lot less random” Leiper said
“There’s structure to what they do, there’s reason to what they do
They’re smart, and we are, too
There’s a reason for what we do, a reason for the pitches we throw, some preparation that goes into the game”

And from a respect standpoint, Leiper noted, “everything we feel about them, they feel about us”

Akron scored twice in the third inning on Ryan Goleski’s two-run double and coasted the rest of the way Saturday

The Aeros added a run in the fourth off Curve starter Wardell Starling (1-1), who yielded three runs in five innings to take the loss in his first start at Blair County Ballpark

Miller, who was hitting the mid-90s on the Blair County Ballpark radar gun, didn’t give up a hit until the fifth inning and bounced back from a tough outing the last time he faced the Curve
Miller gave up five runs on ten hits over five innings in a June 26 loss to Altoona

“What impressed me the most is we really took it to him last time, and obviously he was a little bit fired up for tonight” Leiper said
“I haven’t seen him throw as hard as he did”

Harrisburg lost a doubleheader Saturday, so despite their own loss, the Curve picked up a half game in the standings on the Senators
Altoona now leads Harrisburg by 3-1/2 games

The current standings may not mean much, however, since the Curve still have thirteen games left against the Senators
“As long as, when we play Harrisburg, we can get ahead of them, when we go up against Akron it’s going to be a battle every time” Roneberg said