Former Cleveland farmhand Brian Finegan homered in the seventh and Brad Corley drove in the winning run in the eighth as Altoona claimed the opener of a three-game series 3-2 over Akron before 3,793 fans at Blair County Ballpark Monday night. The Curve improved to 8-9 with the win while Akron slipped to 6-10.

James Boone opened the scoring early, yanking David Huff's fifth pitch of the game down the left field line for a solo home run. Akron answered in the top of the fifth however, as Chris Gimenez led off with a solo shot of his own, his second of the year, to tie the game at 1-1. The Aeros then capitalized on some wildness from Curve reliever Pat Bresnahan as he walked four men in the inning, capping things with a four-pitch free pass to Gimenez to force in a run and make it 2-1.

Aeros starter David Huff was magnificent in his fourth start of the year, working into the seventh and allowing only Boone's home run. The left-hander retired the first two hitters in the bottom of the seventh, but departed after 92 pitches and gave way to Jeff Stevens. The first batter Stevens faced was Finegan, and he greeted his former Kinston teammate with a solo home run to left field to tie the game at 2-2. In the eighth, Stevens issued a leadoff walk to Boone and Jonel Pacheco followed two batters later with a perfect hit-and-run single to right to put runners on the corners. Stevens then induced a potential double play grounder from Corley, but the ball wasn't hit overly hard and Corley beat the throw to first as Boone scored the deciding run.

Brian Rogers (2-0) got the win with two shutout innings in relief, while Stevens (2-1) was charged with both a blown save and the loss. Huff turned in arguably the best start the Aeros have received all season, allowing just a run and a hit in 6.2 innings. He walked two and struck out six, retired the last nine hitters he faced, and turned in the longest start for an Aeros pitcher this year. Gimenez went 2-2 with a pair of walks and drove in both runs offensively.

Game two in this three-game series is set for 6:35 p.m. Tuesday, as Akron's Frank Herrmann (2-0, 4.32 ERA) takes on Altoona's Jimmy Barthmaier (1-0, 7.07 ERA). The game broadcast begins at 6:20 p.m. on SportsRadio 1350 AM and online at www.akronaeros.com. For more information, please call the Aeros at (330) 253-5151.