Shelley Duncan homered to start a six-run seventh and added a two-run double in the inning as the Cleveland Indians rallied for a 6-5 victory over the Minnesota Twins yesterday, completing a three-game sweep.

Trailing 3-0, the Indians scored five unearned runs in the seventh. Duncan led off with a homer and also doubled in a pair of runs later in the inning that saw Cleveland send 11 batters to the plate.

Luke Hughes scored three runs for the Twins, who lost their eighth straight and 24th in 29 games. Minnesota's Brian Dinkelman had his first career four-hit game.

Cleveland's Justin Masterson (12-10) pitched six innings, giving up three runs __ one earned __ on seven hits to secure the victory.  Chris Perez pitched a scoreless ninth for his 34th save in 38 chances.

The Indians return to Progressive Field today to play a make-up game against the Seattle Mariners. First pitch is at 4:05. The Tribe will complete the homestand with four games against the Chicago White Sox and four against the Twins.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Peyton Hillis rushed for 94 yards and twotouchdowns, leading the Cleveland Browns to a 27-19 victory at Indianapolis yesterday.

The Browns (1-1) ended a five-game losing streak to the Colts, with their first win in the series since September 25th, 1994.

Colt McCoy was 22 of 32 for 211 yards with one TD.

Without Peyton Manning, the Colts just don't look like themselves. They are 0-2 for the first time since 1998 and never seriously challenged the Browns after falling behind 14-9 late in the first half.

Kerry Collins, Manning's replacement, started 9 of 12 on Sunday but finished 19 of 38 for 191 yards with one interception, one TDand one lost fumble.

The Browns took advantage of Indy's struggles. McCoy's 16-yard TD pass to Evan Moore made it 7-6, and Hillis' 1-yard score put Cleveland up 14-9 at the half. The Browns never trailed again.

The Browns are back at Cleveland Browns Stadium this coming Sunday to plat the Miami Dolphins.

All four teams in the AFC North Division, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Baltimore and Pittsburgh are 1-1 and tied for first place.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

The No. 4 University of Akron men's soccer team earned a hard-fought, 1-0 victory over Cal Poly in the final game of The University of Akron Tournament at FirstEnergy Stadium – Cub Cadet Field Sunday night.
Scott Caldwell burried a penalty kick in the 83rd minute to win the match for the Zips (4-0-2), who had to play without the services of top goal-scorer Darren Mattocks as a result of the striker's red card Friday night.

With the result, UA extended its NCAA-record home unbeaten streak to 42 games (39-0-3) and remained unbeaten on the season.

With the teams locked in a scoreless tie late in the game, Aodhan Quinn passed the ball from just beyond midfield to DeAndre Yedlin, who created space on the right flank, dribbled past his man into the top of the penalty area and was tackled from behind.

It was Caldwell's fourth goal and second game-winner of the season. Following the game, Caldwell, Chad Barson and Wil Trapp were named to The University of Akron All-Tournament team.

David Meves recorded three saves and the Zips' defense limited the Mustangs (3-2-2) to just seven shots for the match – and three on goal – while earning UA's fourth shutout in six contests.

It was a fairly balanced opening half with neither team able to sustain a consistent rhythm. Nonetheless, the Zips were on the ball for a majority of the time and out-shot the Mustangs, 7-4.
Akron had a number of chances to go ahead just before halftime but couldn't find the net. In particular, Thomas Schmitt had a two prime looks, including a one-on-one with the keeper from the near left flank but couldn't convert the tough angle.

Cal Poly didn't have many chances but had the most dangerous strike in the 40th minute when George Malki rang the cross bar from the top of the box.

The Zips will jump back on the road for their next match at Tulsa Saturday, starting at 8 p.m. (ET).

Zips Notebook: Caldwell, who is tied with Mattocks for the team lead in goals with four, has recorded at least one point in five of six games this fall ... UA head coach Caleb Porter, the NCAA's winningest active coach, recorded the 94th win of his six-year career Sunday ... The Zips are 68-1-7 under Porter when shutting out an opponent.

The Firestone Falcons captured their first victory of the season in defeating the Kenmore Cardinals 14-12 at Kenmore Stadium Saturday afternoon. 

The game could have been called the ‘turnover bowl’.  Both teams turned it over a total of nine times, five of those were committed by the Falcons. 

Firestone head coach Tim Flossie was glad his team cracked the win column.  “At the age of 62 any win is a good win.  We made a lot of dumb mistakes.  We were able to control the football in the second half and ran out the clock.”

But, the win wasn’t that easy. 

Kenmore took advantage of a Firestone fumble on their second series in the first quarter.  Linebacker Deon’tae Moore swatted the football out of Quarterback Nick Heimbaugh’s hands and pounced on the loose pigskin at the Falcon 29-yard line. 

In four plays, Kenmore found the end zone on a 14-yard run by sophomore running back Willie Johnson.  Ben Gulley missed the try for an extra point and the Cardinals had a 6-0 lead.

Firestone battled right back following the kickoff.  Heimbaugh completed three passes in the seven play drive.  He hit junior wide receiver Kevin Gladney with a 38-yard touchdown pass down the right sidelines to tie the game at 6.  Joshua Brebant’s try for the extra point was blocked by the Kenmore defense. 

Kenmore took over following the ensuing kickoff, the Cardinals turned the ball over as Stefan Willis picked off Kenmore quarterback DeSean Ballinger’s pass to the Cardinal 25 yard line. 

But, the Falcons couldn’t move the ball.  Brebant was called on to kick a 42-yard field goal.  Tavares Parmer picked up the ball and scampered 58 yards for a Kenmore touchdown.  The try for a two-point conversion was no good and Kenmore had a 12-6 lead just one-minute into the second quarter.

Each team had the ball three additional times in the second quarter, but couldn’t come up with any points.  The Cardinals held a six-point lead at half.

On their initial possession of the third quarter, Firestone got into the end zone for what proved to be the game winning score.  It was a 10-play, 50-yard drive, helped in large part by three Kenmore penalties.  The drive stayed alive thanks to a 13-yard hookup between Heimbaugh and Christian Morgan on a fourth-and-four.  Dontel Stone finished off the drive with a three-yard dash into the end zone. 

With the game tied at 12, Firestone lined up to kick the extra point.  The Falcons faked the try as the holder Brad Shields ran to the right and hit running back Edmund Williams in the corner of the end zone for two points giving Firestone a 14-12 lead.

Kenmore had a chance to re-take the lead in the fourth quarter.  Moore caused another fumble by Heimbaugh that was recovered by Kenmore’s Darnell Vickers at the Falcons 22-yard line. 

But, Kenmore couldn’t move the ball.  On a fourth-and-12 at the Falcons 24, Ballinger tried to hit Ben Gulley in the end zone.  Willis drifted over and picked the ball off and returned it to the Firestone four-yard line.

“I always try to read the quarterback’s eyes”, said Willis.  “When I see the ball in the air, it’s mine and I go and get it.”

“We made a couple of mistakes, a couple of balls that we should have caught.  Then, it would have been a different story,” said Kenmore head coach Ed Peltz. 

Firestone is 1-3 overall, 1-0 in the City Series.  Kenmore is 2-2 overall, 0-1 in the City Series.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

Firestone 6-0-8-0=14

Kenmore 6-6-0-0=12

FIRST QUARTER       :

K – Willie Johnson 14 yard run (Kick no good) 6:04

F – Kevin Gladney 38 yard pass from Nick Heimbaugh (Kick blocked) 2:01

SECOND QUARTER:

K – Tavares Parmer 58 yard return of a blocked field goal (Pass failed) 11:46

THIRD QUARTER:

F – Dontel Stone 3 yard run (Pass good Shields to Williams) 2:31

FOURTH QUARTER:

No Scoring

The Cleveland Browns are glad to see linebcker D'Qwell Jackson back on the field.

If you saw last Sunday's game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Browns Stadium, you would have never known that Jackson had been off the field for nearly two years.

“It felt great," said Jackson. "Finally, it’s one that counted. I thought I had a pretty decent preseason so I just wanted to have some carryover. It didn’t surprise me, but it was definitely a great feeling to get back out there to get a feel of the system. The scheme allows myself and our backers to go out and make a tremendous amount of plays.”

Jackson had 11 total tackles against the Bengals and two quarterback sacks.

Even though Peyton Manning will not be on the Indianapolis Colts' starting quarterback, Jackson knows Kerry Collins is a veteran signal caller and will be in the flow of the offense.

"He’s a veteran guy so I know he’s going to get back in stride. He can fix things in a hurry. The guy has been playing for a number of years now so he’s a veteran. That’s one of the reasons why they brought him in so we can’t take him for granted, not for one second," said Jackson.

You'll be able to hear Sunday's game between the Browns and the Colts on 97.5 WONE.

This week's edition of the Local Loop, Jeff Brewer of SportsInk-dot-com looks at the first year in the Suburban League of Nordonia High School.

Nordonia was admitted to the Suburban League when Barberton High School decided to go in another direction.

Nordonia Athletic Director Rob Eckenrode says he has been impressed with how the seven other schools in the Suburban League have treated the new kid on the block.

They're one of the early season surprises in High School Football, the Coventry Comets.

Coventry's record last year was 2-8. This year, the Comets are 3-0, having defeated Canton South, North and East.

Tonight, the Comets have a tough task ahead of the, playing the Rough Riders of Kent Roosevelt on the road in the Portage Trail Conference opener for both teams. Kent Roosevelt's record is 2-1.

Comets head coach Jerami Hodgkinson is in his second season as head coach. He says being on the sidelines for a second consecutive season has been a big help.

Hodgkinson attributes much of the Comets' success to pre-season workouts. The motto of this year's team is "Faith, Family and Finish"

How good can this year's team be? Hodgkinson says we're going week to week, we'll see how long we go.

The High School Football season takes another turn as conference play begins tonight.

In the Suburban League, all eight high schools are in action. Among the games, the Tallmadge Blue Devils play host to the Revere Minutemen.

It was a difficult non-league schedule for Revere. The Minutemen lost to Chagrin Falls, North Royalton and Aurora. Chagrin Falls and Aurora made the State High School Football Playoffs last year and North Royalton won nine games.

Revere head coach Phil Hein says he's looking for his offense to do what they do best tonight, and that's run the football.

Hein says he is not fooled by the 1-2 record that Tallmadge has. Hein says he knows that Joe Vassalotti's team has a lot of talent and will feature a balanced attack on offense between running and passing.

You'll be able to hear tonight's game between Tallmadge and Revere on 1590 WAKR. Kickoff is slated for 7 o'clock.

The Firestone Lady Falcons completed an undefeated first half of the City Series Volleyball schedule with a win over the Buchtel Lady Griffins 25-11, 25-9 and 25-21 Thursday night at Firestone High School.
 
The Falcons first half record is 6-0, while Buchtel finishes the first half at 2-4.
 
Firestone has the proverbial target on their back after having won the City Series Volleyball championship the last three years in a row.  (2008, 2009 and 2010)
 
Lady Falcons head coach Stacie Myers says “I’m confident in the Lady Falcons, and I think that we’ll get the job done again this year.”  In order for the Falcons to have an undefeated second half, Myers said “we need to stay disciplined and work hard.”
 
In the first game, Buchtel scored the first point, but Firestone ran off the next six points on the serve of junior co-captain Paige Gravenstein.  Included in that six-point run, were two service aces by Gravenstein.  Later on in game One, Gravenstein had two more service aces.
 
In Game Two, Gravenstein had three service aces, plus a couple of kills.  Firestone’s Libero,  Jordan Jernigan,  did the job on the back line setting up Gravenstein and Sara Davis.  The Lady Falcons controlled play at the net, leading at one point 11-1.
 
Gravenstein says she works on her serving all the time.  “Coach makes serving really important.  Whenever we miss a serve, we have to run a suicide drill. Sometimes I put top spin on the serve and sometimes that can throw teams off.”
 
But, the Lady Griffins did not go quietly.  They fought back in the third game.  Ashaunte Dent started on serve and got the first four points of the game for Buchtel.  The Lady Griffins held a 7-5 lead before Firestone got their act together.  It was Gravenstein who led the comeback.  Two straight kills by the junior tied the game at seven.  Later in the game, two more kills by Gravenstein and three by Davis put the match in the win column for Firestone. 
 
Buchtel head coach Francine Blake says her team learned a lot from the match.  While she was disappointed in the first two games, Blake says her team ‘played well’ in the third game.
 
Firestone’s record is 7-1 overall, 6-0 in the City Series.  Buchtel’s record is 5-5 overall and 2-4 in the City Series.
 

Michael Young hit a three-run double togo over 100 RBIs for the second time in his career and the AL West-leading Texas Rangers completed a three-game series sweep of Cleveland with a 7-4 victory last night.

Cleveland's loss cut Detroit's magic number for clinching the AL Central to one. The Tigers played later at Oakland.

Josh Hamilton homered for the third straight game and Adrian Beltre also homered in extending his career-best hitting streak to19 games.

Texas stretched its division lead over the idle Los Angeles Angels to 3.5 games.

Fausto Carmona took the loss for the Indians, his record at 6-15. Carmona gave up seven hits, six runs, five earned in six innings on the mound.

Texas scored five runs in the fifth inning to put the game away.

The Indians head to Minnesota for a three-game series with the Twins. Ubaldo Jimenez starts for the Tribe on the mound tonight against Kevin Slowey.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)