With a solo blast in the bottom of the 11th inning, RF Allen Staton propelled the 1st-Half North Division Champion Springfield Cardinals to the 4-3 walk-off win against the Northwest Arkansas Naturals before 7,869 fans at Hammons Field on Thursday night.
The Naturals (30-29, 59-70) came out swinging in the top of the first against RHP Corey Baker. Leading off the game, 2B Corey Toups connected on Baker's second pitch to drive a solo shot to left field, lifting the Naturals into the early 1-0 lead out of the gates.
Baker blanked the Naturals through the rest of the opening inning, before scoreless work in the second and third as well to keep it just a one-run deficit for Springfield.
The Cardinals (27-31, 68-60) then broke through in the bottom of the third against RHP Yender Caramo. With one down, LF Vaughn Bryan got the bats going with a one-out base hit, before racing around to third on a single from SS Alex Mejia. With runners at the corners and one away, DH Bruce Caldwell skied an RBI sacrifice fly to left field, enabling Bryan to tag and score to tie the game, 1-1.
Baker and Caramo battled back and forth with scoreless innings in the fourth and fifth, before the Naturals swung in front in the top of the sixth. With one down, RF Alfredo Escalera reached on a fielding error by Baker on a quickly-falling flare right behind the mound. The next batter, 3B Mauricio Ramos, promptly pulled a two-run shot into the left field bullpen, swinging the Naturals back in front, 3-1.
LHP Justin Wright took over in the top of the seventh and posted a scoreless frame, before the Cardinals raced back in the bottom of the seventh. C Jesse Jenner led off with a base hit, followed by a two-run shot lasered out to left field from CF Blake Drake, squaring the score at 3-3.
Wright combined with RHP Josh Lucas to blank the Naturals through the 10th, before RHP Kevin Herget (W, 4-0) posted a scoreless top of the 11th to keep the tie intact.
With one away in the bottom of the 11th and LHP Tim Hill (L, 2-2) on the mound, RF Allen Staton slugged a solo home run off the left field foul pole, catapulting the Cardinals to the 4-3 walk-off win in 11 innings.
