STAUMONT STAVES OFF SEASON'S END IN 4-0 WIN OVER MIDLAND
MIDLAND, Texas - The Naturals gave starting pitcher, Josh Staumont, a 1-0 lead in the first inning and the right-hander was completely fine with it. The former 2nd round pick tossed 6.1 innings of shutout baseball leading the Naturals to a 4-0 victory in Game 3 of the Texas League Championship on Thursday night at Security Bank Ballpark. The victory forces the two bus-lagged clubs to play Game 4 on Friday night.
Northwest Arkansas (1-2) took an early 1-0 lead after Corey Toups led off the game with a double down the left-field line. The lead-off man moved to third base on Alfredo Escalera's single to right field and came around to score on Mauricio Ramos' sacrifice fly to left.
Staumont (1-0) protected the 1-0 advantage by facing the minimum from the second through the fourth innings and allowed just one hit over his final 3.1 innings of his stellar outing. The 22-year old hurler retired the final six batters faced and started a streak of 11 consecutive hitters retired by he and the bullpen.
The Naturals tacked on to the 1-0 lead courtesy of Escalera's bat. In the seventh inning with men on first and second with one out, the centerfielder doubled down the left-field line to extend the lead to 3-0. In the ninth inning, Escalera doubled home Toups from second base to make it a 4-0 lead.
Daniel Stumpf worked 1.1 perfect innings with a pair of strikeouts while Aroni Nina tossed 1.0 innings of relief with a pair of walks and a strikeout. Left-hander, Eric Stout, notched the save striking out the final hitter, left-hander, Beau Taylor, looking to end the game.
Escalera finished 4-for-5 on the night with three RBIs and a home run shy of the cycle. Toups scored three of the Naturals four runs on the evening, finishing 1-for-3 with a pair of walks and a stolen bag. Humberto Arteaga chipped in with a 2-for-4 night, hitting a lead-off double in the two-run seventh frame.
The Naturals trail the Midland RockHounds two games to one in the best of five game series and will send right-hander, Glenn Sparkman to the hill for Game 4 on Friday night at Security Bank Ballpark. Join the Voice of the Naturals, Benjamin Kelly, with a 6:40 p.m. pregame show, leading up to the 7:00 p.m. first pitch on AM-1590, the Ticket-2.
Follow the Northwest Arkansas Naturals on Twitter @NWANaturals all throughout the year by using the hashtag #NaturalPastime and #CrowntoCrown for all of our up-to-date information on the Season Nine of Naturals Baseball, tickets, groups, promotions, roster, season standings, player statistics, and updates on Naturals alumni.
The Northwest Arkansas Naturals are the Double-A Texas League Affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. The Naturals play at state-of-the-art Arvest Ballpark in Springdale, Ark. For more information, including statistics, ticket options, and more, please visit NWANaturals.com, and follow us on Twitter @NWANaturals and Facebook.com/Naturals.
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