We already knew reining PCL Player of the Week Ryan Wheeler had talents ON the field, now see what he can do off of it…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lxk7UBax-Yo&feature=youtube_gdata_player

This Mother’s Day, treat mom to a one of a kind gift: a visit from Archie!

Say “I love you, Mom” with a visit from the Big Red Mound of fun! Your Mom will receive a $25.00 Reno Aces Gift Card good for the Team Shop (open year round) or tickets, flowers and Archie will personally deliver the package.

Archie is available to make deliveries May 8-May 13. Delivery will occur at some point between 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. On May 12, Archie is only available to deliver between 9 a.m. to noon. Dates are subject to change based on total requests and on a first come first served basis.

Visit http://aces.milbstore.com/store_contents.cfm?store_id=58&product_id=30973 to find out more information, or to purchase your Mother’s Day Archie-gram!

The Aces ended the month of April with a 10-15 record, ranked 3rd in the PCL Pacific North Division.

Below are team leaders for several categories through the month of April.

BATTING LEADERS

Batting Average
Josh Bell          .467
Adam Eaton   .412
Randy Ruiz     .372
Jake Elmore   .329
Ryan Wheeler.316

Hits
Ryan Wheeler   30
Randy Ruiz        29
Jake Elmore      23
Adam Eaton      21
Konrad Schmidt 17

OBP
Josh Bell             .500
Adam Eaton      .464
Jake Elmore      .442
Randy Ruiz        .430
David Winfree   .345

PITCHING LEADERS

ERA (Starting Pitchers)
Barry Enright      1.75
Joe Martinez        4.42
Zach Kroenke     4.50

Strikeouts
Tom Layne       14
Barry Enright  13
Zach Kroenke  13
Jason Lane       13
Bryan Woodall 13

The Aces return home today for an eight-game stretch that will pit them against the Las Vegas 51s and Tacoma Rainiers.

In 2011, Reno and Las Vegas split the Silver State Diamond Challenge for the second time in three seasons. The Aces have a 27-21 edge all-time versus Las Vegas, with a 14-10 advantage at Aces Ballpark. The Aces will face the 51s in three more series this season–June 30-July 3 at home, and June 2-5 and July 20-23 on the road.

Reno’s 34 wins against Pacific North Division foe Tacoma are its most against any single opponent. The Rainiers have won just 14 games against the Aces, and Reno is 18-6 all-time against Tacoma at Aces Ballpark.

The homestand is full of great events for fans, including fireworks, beer specials, a batting practice jersey giveaway, and $1 ribs and nachos. More information regarding the homestand events can be found HERE.

Aces Hitting Coach Rick Burleson will be celebrating his 61st birthday this Sunday. The California native joined the D-backs organization in 2008 as the Single-A Hitting Coach. He has served as the Aces’ Hitting Coach since the team moved to Reno in 2009.

Burleson is widely regarded as one of the best shortstops in Boston Red Sox history. A first-round pick by the Red Sox in the 1970 draft, Burleson broke into the Big Leagues in 1974, finishing fourth in the Rookie of the Year Vote. He would go on to earn a spot on four American League All-Star teams, including three-straight from 1977-79. Burleson finished his career with Baltimore in 1987 after spending five seasons in the California organization. He earned an American League Gold Glove Award at shortstop and two years later picked up a Silver Slugger honor. Burleson was a career .273 batter and collected more than 1,400 hits.

Happy birthday, Rick!

Because of the great support fans have offered, the Reno Aces are giving back by rolling out a new rewards program called The Club. The program is the first of its kind in professional baseball, and has already garnered attention from outside of the area.

Lucky club members will have the opportunity to win game-worn jerseys, 2013 Triple-A All-Star Game tickets, and 2013 Aces season tickets. Fans can earn points for checking in at the ballpark on Foursquare, liking and sharing Aces’ Facebook posts, and re-tweeting the Aces or using special Twitter hashtags. Points can also be earned for posting photos from Aces Ballpark to CrowdCameo, a photo-sharing site.

At the end of each homestand, one lucky fan will win a game-worn jersey. At the All-Star Break, one fan will win tickets to the 2013 Triple-A All-Star Game and the 2013 Triple-A Home Run Derby, to be held in Reno next summer. At the end of the season, one lucky fan will win four Infield Reserved season tickets for the 2013 season, including tickets to the All-Star festivities. Fans will also have the chance to win seat upgrades, player-autographed items and other prizes throughout the season.

Fans will reap rewards from the beginning, as all registrants can pick up a special window cling just for joining The Club. In addition to the big prizes, lucky fans will also be eligible for seat upgrades, concessions discounts, the chance to participate in on-field games, and more.

Fans can sign up for The Club, and learn more about it, at www.renoacesrewards.com. The FAQ section contains important information on point restrictions, accepted Twitter hashtags, and more.  

The Club was featured today on MLBlogs: http://bensbiz.mlblogs.com/2012/04/24/on-innovations-and-litigation/

After playing 20 straight games, the Aces are enjoying their first off day of the season. Players across professional baseball use their off days to relax, participate in some of their non-baseball hobbies, and catch up with friends and family.

The home series against Sacramento featured a mixture of highs and lows for the Aces, who suffered their fourth-straight series loss.

Notes

• Outfielder Adam Eaton collected his 250th career hit on a single up the middle in the first inning Monday night.
• The D-backs acquired infielder Josh Bell from the Orioles on Monday. Bell went 2-for-6 in his Aces debut with 1 RBI, but he committed three errors. Tuesday afternoon proved to be a much more successful outing for Bell, as he blasted two home runs, one from each side of the plate. He went 2-for-4 with 5 RBIs, and had a spectacular catch in foul territory to end the River Cats scoring threat in the top of the second.
• RHP Charles Brewer joined the Aces from Double-A Mobile in time for a Sunday start. Brewer, who entered the season ranked Arizona’s 21st-best prospect, was charged with the loss in his Triple-A debut. He gave up 5 ER, walked two, and struck out two through five innings. LHP Tom Layne was transitioned to the Aces bullpen. Last season, Layne split the season between the Aces rotation adn bullpen, making 15 starts and 17 relief appearances. In his careeer, he has gone 7-3 with a 3.52 ERA in 64 relief apperances.
• INF Randy Ruiz is riding an 8-game hitting streak that began April 14.
• INF Jake Elmore has a 15-game on base streak that began Opening Day.
• Infielder Ryan Wheeler is the only player who has started all 20 games this season. Outfielders Cole Gillespie and Evan Frey have 19 appearances each for the Aces this season.
• The Aces are 3-0 in extra-inning games this season, and 20-17 all-time in extra inning games. Catcher Mark Reed has scored the game-winning run in each of the Aces’ 2 walk-off wins this season.

On Thursday, the Aces hit the road for a four game series against the Salt Lake Bees. They will return April 30 for an eight game homestand featuring a series each against the Las Vegas 51s and Tacoma Rainiers. Highlights of the upcoming homestand include $1 ribs April 30 and $1 nachos May 7 for Om-Nom-Nomday Presented by KTVN Channel 2 News. Dillard’s is sponsoring a batting practice jersey giveaway May 5, and the second Youth League day will be held May 6.