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TL1 Northwest Arkansas Naturals

Toups, Naturals Club Cardinals in North Division

September 8, 2016 - Texas League (TL1)
Northwest Arkansas Naturals News Release


SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Corey Toups gave the Naturals the lead and then made sure the club kept it with a pair of home runs and three RBIs in Northwest Arkansas' 9-6 win in Game 1 of the North Division Championship Series win over the Springfield Cardinals on Wednesday night at Hammons Field.

Toups first big fly came with one out and the bases empty in the top of the 6th inning, immediately following the half-frame which saw Springfield tie the score at 5-5. The Woodlands, Texas native slugged a 1-0 pitch off reliever, Robby Rowland and gave the Naturals a 6-5 lead in the sixth.

Later in the eighth innings, Toups - who hit 12 home runs between Wilmington (Advanced-A) and the Naturals during the regular season - followed a one-out single by Logan Moon with a line-drive, two-run home run over the left-field wall to extend Northwest Arkansas advantage to 8-5 en route to the 9-6 win over the Cardinals.

The second baseman atoned for a pair of blunders in the field on the night by becoming the fourth player in franchise history with a multi-home run postseason game and became the first since Anthony Seratelli's two home run performance in the Texas League Championship Series against the Midland RockHounds in 2010.

The offense was kick-started by Moon in the third inning with a lead-off double off Cardinals' starter, Daniel Poncedeleon. The right-fielder laced the two-bagger down the right-field line and moved to third base after Toups collect his first of three hits on the night. Alfredo Escalera singled into left-field to give the Naturals a 1-0 lead which only started a four-run frame.

The Naturals jarred the Springfield starter from the game after just 2.0-plus innings of work. Poncedeleon did not amass an out in the third inning and the Naturals dug deep into the Cardinals bullpen facing five relievers following the starters' exit.

Left-hander, Eric Skoglund started strong for Northwest Arkansas. The newly-christened Texas League Strikeout King worked around some spotty defense and gave 3.0 shutout innings to begin the night. The Cardinals cracked the scoreboard in the fourth inning with a solo home run and plated four runs in the fifth of which only two were earned to end the left-handers night after 4.2 innings.

The final line for Skoglund read 4.2 innings, five runs, four earned on seven hits with a strikeout and two walks.

Left-hander, Daniel Stumpf, replaced Skoglund in the fifth inning and achieved the final out of the frame with a swining strikeout of Bruce Caldwell. Stumpf (1-0, 0.00) worked 1.1 innings of scoreless relief to earn the win.

Right-hander, Reid Redman allowed a single run over his 1.0-plus innings with Mark Peterson - celebrating his 26th birthday - notching the save by getting the final six outs on the night.

The Naturals pounded out 16 hits on the night, the second most by any Naturals club in the postseason in franchise history with four members of the starting nine amassing three-or-more hits in the contest. Prior to tonight, only five players had three-or-more hits in a playoff game with former Natural Parker Morin doing it most recently in 2015.

Mauricio Ramos led the charge with a 4-for-5 night and became the first player with four hits in a postseason game in Naturals' franchise history. Frank Schwindel and Moon are the other two that finished with three hits on the night.

The bats stayed hot, batting 6-for-14 with men in scoring position while Schwindel and Ramos both drove in RBIs with two outs during a Naturals' rally.

Game 2 of the best of five game series continues on Thursday night form Hammons Field with a 7:10 p.m. first pitch. Right-hander, Glenn Sparkman takes the hill for the Naturals against former Natural, right-hander J.C. Sulbaran for the Cardinals.

Join the Voice of the Naturals, Benjamin Kelly, with a 6:50 p.m. pregame on the sister-station of the flagship station of the Naturals, 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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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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