Brooks Pounders didn’t need much help from the rest of the Northwest Arkansas Naturals on Thursday night.
Pounders pitched the first complete-game no-hitter in franchise history, allowing only two base runners while defeating the Midland RockHounds 11-0 in front of 3,955 at Arvest Ballpark in Springdale.
“After the first inning, I wasn’t sure how this would go, but I stuck to the game plan,” Pounders said. “After the second, I kind of settled in.”
It was the first no-hitter thrown by the Naturals since May 10, 2012, when four pitchers - Greg Holland, Chris Dwyer, Brendan Lafferty and Kendal Volz - combined to defeat the Springfield Cardinals 2-0 at Arvest Park. Northwest Arkansas’ only other no-hitter was another combined effort by Will Smith and Kelvin Herrera in a 1-0 victory over the Arkansas Travelers on July 19, 2011, in North Little Rock.
Northwest Arkansas scored three runs in the first inning Thursday night off Midland starter Arnold Leon, and that was more than enough for Pounders.
The 6-5, 268-pound right-hander entered the game with a 4.62 ERA, and he pounded the strike zone all night and finished with six strikeouts. Pounders, 22, threw 98 pitches, including 70 for strikes.
Pounders (3-4) didn’t allow a runner to reach base until the third inning, when Darwin Perez reached with two outs on a fielding error by Naturals first baseman Matt Fields.
The threat ended there as the next batter, Conner Crumbless, flied out to end the inning.
The RockHounds didn’t manage another runner until the fifth inning when Pounders hit Tyler Ladendorf with a pitch with two outs, but David Freitas followed that with a ground out to end the inning.
Northwest Arkansas’ offense did its part to put Pounders at ease early, staking him to a 3-0 lead in the first inning. Singles by lead off hitter Brett Eibner and Orlando Calixte put runners on first and second, and Brian Fletcher followed with a home run to right field, his sixth of the season.
It stayed that way until the sixth, when Calixte led off the bottom half of the inning with a home run - his fourth of the season - to left field.
Northwest Arkansas made it 5-0 in the seventh.
Whit Merrifield singled with two outs and advanced to third on a single to left field by Juan Graterol before Eibner followed with another single to drive in Merrifield.
The Naturals sealed the deal with six more runs in the eighth inning.
THURSDAY’S GAMES
Northwest Arkansas 11, Midland 0 Frisco 3, Arkansas 2 Springfield 6, Corpus Christi 5 Tulsa 4, San Antonio 2
TODAY’S GAMES - All Times Central Midland at NW Arkansas, 7 p.m.
Springfield at Corpus Christi, 7:05 p.m.
Tulsa at San Antonio, 7:05 p.m.
Frisco at Arkansas, 7:10 p.m.
Sports, Pages 19 on 06/28/2013