STRONG START BY STAUMONT IN NATURALS 1-0 LOSS

NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Josh Staumont fired 5.2 innings of one-run baseball; but the Naturals offense could not conjure an offensive spurt in the 1-0 loss to the Arkansas Travelers at Dickey-Stephens Ballpark on Saturday night.
Staumont (3-4, 4.44 ERA) kept the Travelers bats quiet and did not allow a hit through his first three and one-third innings. Ryan Casteel  singled to leftfield on a 3-1 pitch and moved to second a wild pitch. Two batters later, Seth Mejias-Brean  dribbled a broken-bat base-hit up the middle to bring home lone tally of the night in the fourth.

The fourth inning ended with Mejias-Brean tossed out at home after attempting to score on double by Steve Baron. Cody Jones  fielded the double on a back-handed play in the left-centerfield gap and relayed the thrown to second base where Humberto Arteaga fired home to catcher, Nick Dini  to nab Mejias-Brean at the plate to retire the side, keeping the deficit at 1-0.
Northwest Arkansas (27-41/66/72) tabbed just four hits in the game and out-hit the Travelers, 4-3; but double-plays turned by Arkansas in the third and fifth innings halted mid-inning rallies to keep the Naturals scoreless.
The bullpen covered the final 3.1 innings of shutout relief. Right-hander, Jason Adam worked 1.2 innings and struck out two with left-hander, Matt Tenuta  working the final two outs of the eighth inning with a strikeout.
Alfredo Escalera, Anderson Miller, Humberto Arteaga and Jones recorded the four hits for the Naturals.
The series continues on Sunday, September 3^rd with a 2:10 first pitch from Dickey-Stephens Park. Left-hander, Emilio Ogando (9-10, 3.50) will make his 23^rd start of the year for the Naturals against right-hander, Bryan Evans (4-1, 3.45) countering for the Travelers.
Join the Voice of the Naturals, Benjamin Kelly¸ with a 1:50 p.m. Indigo Sky Casino Pregame Show leading up to the 2:10 p.m. first pitch on the flagship station of the Naturals, 92.1-FM, the Ticket.
Follow the Northwest Arkansas Naturals on Facebook and Twitter @NWANaturals all throughout the year by using the hashtag #NaturalPastime and #CrowntoCrown for all of our up-to-date information on Season 10 of Naturals baseball.
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.
-Naturals-