Nieuwenhuis, Stauffer lift 51s to 2-0 victory at Round Rock

Kirk Nieuwenhuis hit a two-run homer in the fourth inning that proved to be the only runs as the 51s won the opener of a four-game Pacific Coast League series 2-0 over the Round Rock Express on Thursday night at Round Rock, Texas.

Tim Stauffer made sure the runs held up, working 8 1/3 scoreless innings to improve to 4-0.

Stauffer allowed four hits and struck out five to help Las Vegas (74-59) extend its lead on El Paso, a 9-7 loser to Oklahoma City, to 3½ games in the Pacific Southern Division.

Dario Alvarez and John Church each got an out in the ninth inning to preserve the shutout.

Eric Campbell walked and scored on the home run by Nieuwenhuis. Johnny Monell had two hits for Las Vegas.

The 51s have three more games at Round Rock (71-62), including today at 5:05 p.m., before returning home for a key four-game set against El Paso at Cashman Field.