2017 Reno Aces Season Review

2017 End of Season Game Notes
Reno, NV - The 2017 Pacific Northern Division Champion Reno Aces, one of just four Pacific Coast League teams to make it into the playoffs, finished with a regular season record of 80-62 and a playoff record of 0-3. Greater Nevada Field opened its doors to 347,502 Aces fans in 71 openings, tied for most in the PCL. The season was full of individual accolades and personal milestones. Northern Nevada witnessed one of the greatest offensive seasons by an Aces player in Christian Walker, and 13 home starts from D-backs number one prospect Anthony Banda.
The season started unusually, with Hitting Coach Greg Gross being named interim manager on February 20th with Aces newly-named manager, Jerry Narron, filling in for Ron Gardenhire who battled prostate cancer. Gross managed the Reno club to 80 victories, most since 2014 and one away from tying the franchise-best mark of 81. Under his direction, the team batted .290 on the season, tied for second in the PCL, and led the league in hits (1,442), runs scored (458), total bases (2,350), and RBI (812).
From "Player of the Week" honors to "Most Valuable Player", awards came in bunches for the 2017 Reno Aces. First baseman Christian Walker introduced himself to the Reno faithful in the very first week of the season, taking home the PCL player of the week award (4/6-4/16) after batting .348 (16-for-46) with 16 RBI, 12 runs scored, four home runs, four doubles, and four walks. Zack Godley took home the same honor the following week after a seven-inning, one-hit performance. Ketel Marte finished out the Player of the Week honors for Reno in May after batting .500 (13-for-26) with eight runs and 10 RBI from May 1 to May 7.
Four Aces players were named to the 2017 Mid-Season All-Star game in Tacoma, WA. Closer Jimmie Sherfy, outfielder Oswaldo Arcia, and infielders Ildemaro Vargas and Christian Walker were chosen to represent the first-place Aces. Additionally, Walker was the Aces representative in the Home Run Derby. Reno closed out the season with a plethora of awards, as well. Trainer Masa Abe won Pacific Coast League Trainer of the Year, Walker and Arcia were named to the All-PCL Team, and Walker was named the Pacific Coast League Most Valuable Player.
May proved to be the Aces best month of the season, winning 19 of 30 games. In that span, Anthony Banda went 3-1 and struck out 30 in 32 and two-thirds innings. As a team, the Aces batted .313 with 123 extra-base hits, 196 RBI, and 210 runs scored. Oswaldo Arcia (.367, 6 HR, 29 RBI) and Ketel Marte (.377, 39 hits, 26 runs) led the charge offensively, and Banda (3-1), Frank Duncan (3-1), and Braden Shipley (2-0) kept the opponents at bay.
Reno experienced the most roster transactions in franchise history with 210, five more than in 2016. The Aces had MLB rehab stints by five D-backs - Sócrates Brito, A.J Pollock, Ruby De La Rosa, Rey Fuentes and Nick Ahmed. Additionally, four Aces players made their Major League debuts in Banda, Jack Reinheimer, Jimmie Sherfy and Ildemaro Vargas.  
Greater Nevada Field looks to be action-packed again in 2018. Northern Nevada will host the Pacific Coast Northern Division Champion El Paso Chihuahuas nine times, five of which will be played in the very first month of the season. The Chicago Cubs top affiliate, the Iowa Cubs, will bear the summer heat from June 13 through 15 and the San Francisco Giants top affiliate will make the trek from Sacramento eight times. Ticket packages for the 2018 season are on-sale now at www.renoaces.com or by calling (775) 334-7000. Follow the club all season long on Twitter (@Aces) or like the team on Facebook.