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Lake County Sentinel
RubberDucks take 1-0 lead in EL Championship Series with 6-3 win over Trenton  
​  BY DAVID WILSON
RUBBERDUCKS MEDIA
Summary
Designated hitter Eric Haase blasted a grand slam in the fifth inning, and Michael Peoples scattered three runs over seven innings, as the Akron RubberDucks captured Game 1 of the Eastern League Championship Series, 6-3, over the Trenton Thunder Tuesday night at Canal Park. 
 

Turning Point
Trailing 3-2, going to the bottom of the fifth inning, the RubberDucks rallied against Trenton starter Ronald Herrera (0-1). Yan Gomes slugged his second double of the playoffs to lead off the inning. One out later, Nellie Rodriguez caught a break when his grounder to third hit the lip of the grass and took a bad hop past Miguel Andujar for a single, moving Gomes to third. Herrera walked Mike Papi to load the bases and was lifted in favor of right-hander Travis Hissong. Eric Haase, who won Sunday’s Division Series clincher with a walk-off single in the 10th, drilled a 0-1 pitch from Hissong over the left field fence for a grand slam and a 6-3 Akron lead. It was Hasse’s first homer of the playoffs.

 
Winging It
Michael Peoples (1-1) started for the RubberDucks and tossed seven innings to earn his first playoff win. After allowing a pair of runs in the first on a homer by Mike Ford, Peoles settled in and matched his season-high of eight strikeouts. He allowed an RBI double to Billy McKinney in the fourth to trail briefly, 3-2, but threw scoreless ball over the next three innings to close his outing. Peoples through 101 pitches, which was his most in a game all season. Lefty David Speer started the eighth, but gave up a triple and walk before striking out Mark Payton on a dandy curveball. Right-hander Cole Sulser was brought in to face Dante Bichette and induced an immediate 1-6-3 double play to end the threat. Sulser stayed on in the ninth and picked up his second playoff save.
 

Duck Tales
Haase was 2-3, and added a double in the eighth. Gomes was 2-4 in his third rehab appearance of the post-season. He cracked an RBI single in the third inning when Akron tied the game, 2-2. Ivan Castillo was 2-4, and led off the third with a double.
 

Notebook
Akron now owns a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five ELCS…Trenton pitching recorded 14 strikeouts, eight by Herrera...Time of game: 2:43…Attendance: 2,859.
 

On Deck
The RubberDucks and Thunder will play Game 2 of the ELCS on Wednesday night at 6:35. It will be the final game of the season at Canal Park. LHP Rob Kaminsky is expected to start for the RubberDucks and RHP Will Carter is the announced starter for the Thunder. The game will be broadcast on Fox Sports 1350 AM, the WARF iHeart channel, and the TuneIn Radio App. 
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​POSTED 09/13/2016 22:48