Aeros Sweep Into Championship Series

Beau Mills and Josh Rodriguez drove in three runs apiece to lead Akron to a 9-3 victory at Reading and a three-game sweep of their Southern Division playoff series. The Aeros will play for the Eastern League championship against the winner of the Northern Division series between the Connecticut Defenders and New Britain Rock Cats. Connecticut leads that best-of-five series, two games to one.

Akron will be playing in the championship series for the fifth year in a row. The Aeros defeated the Portland SeaDogs in four games to win the title in 2005, then lost to them in a five-game rematch in 2006. Akron fell to Trenton in four games in both 2007 and 2008.

In Game 3 Saturday night, Aeros left-hander Eric Berger struck out eight without walking a batter over five innings and got the win. He allowed four hits and two runs. One run was unearned after a throwing error by second baseman Rodriguez in the fourth inning.

Mills put the Aeros ahead with a two-run homer in the first and added an RBI double in the third.

Rodriguez doubled home one run in the third and had a two-run single in the eighth.

John Drennen had three of Akron's 14 hits and Lonnie Chisenhall went 2-for-5. Chisenhall, promoted from Class A Kinston in August, went 7-for-11 with four runs in the three games.

Jerad Head also went 2-for-5 with an RBI and had four doubles and eight RBI total in the series.

Zach Putnam pitched two scoreless innings, Neil Wagner yielded one run in the eighth and Erik Stiller pitched a perfect ninth for the Aeros.

Akron won the regular season title by 14 games with an 89-53 record. Mike Sarbaugh was named the Eastern League manager of the year, catcher Carlos Santana earned Most Valuable Player honors and right-hander Jeanmar Gomez was the Pitcher of the Year.