The Missions offense carried the load for San Antonio on their way to a 10-7 win against the Naturals. San Antonio launched two home runs and four doubles during the win.
The Missions wasted no time getting runs on the board against the Naturals Wednesday night. They sent eight men to the plate and drove in three runs in the top of the first inning. Brad Zunica drove in a run with an RBI double. Eguy Rosario hit an RBI single. Lastly, Juan Fernandez collected an RBI double of his own.
The Naturals answered with a run of their own in the bottom half of the inning. After a walk and a single, MJ Melendez singled into right field which scored Bobby Witt Jr.
San Antonio’s offense picked up where it left off from the first inning by adding three more runs in the second inning. Jose Azocar reached on a double. He scored on a two-run blast from Esteury Ruiz. It was his first home run of the season, and the seventh by a Missions player all season. The third run of the inning scored on an RBI single from Rosario. The Missions had a 6-1 lead.
Northwest Arkansas added a second run in the bottom of the second inning. After a single and a walk, Clay Dungan drove in a run with an RBI single off Aaron Leasher.
However, the Missions offense continued to put up runs in the third inning. Jack Suwinski extended his team lead in homers with his fourth home run of the season. The solo shot increased the lead to 7-2.
Melendez added another RBI in the third inning. He launched a solo home run off Leasher to make it a 7-3 ballgame.
Suwinski continued his big night by adding an RBI double in the top of the fifth inning. The Missions had eight runs and eight hits through five innings of play. The Made it a 9-3 game in the sixth innings thanks to a Brad Zunica RBI single.
The Naturals began a comeback attempt in the bottom of the sixth inning. Due to two fielding errors and two hits, Northwest Arkansas plated three runs against reliever James Reeves to cut the lead to 9-6.
The two teams traded runs in the seventh inning. Jose Azocar hit an RBI single for San Antonio. For the Naturals, Freddy Fermin connected on a solo home run off reliever Fred Schlichtholz.
The Missions will continue their six-game road series against the Northwest Arkansas Naturals on Thursday, May 26th. Right-hander Reiss Knehr (2-1, 4.74) will start for San Antonio against right-hander Alec Marsh (1-1, 3.38). First pitch will be at 7:05 p.m.
Post-Game Notes
- With the win, San Antonio improves to 9-11 on the season
- Eguy Rosario (#17 Padres prospect): 2-5, 2 RBI, 2 K
- Esteury Ruiz (#30 Padres prospect): 2-4, 3 R, HR, 2 RBI, BB, SB, K
- Aaron Leasher pitching line: 4.2 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 6 K