Photo: Missions Baseball/WOAI
In a back-and-forth affair with the Naturals, the San Antonio Missions came out victorious after a three-run seventh inning. Final score was 6-5.
For the first four inning of the game, the fans were treated to a pitcher’s duel at Nelson Wolff Stadium. Reiss Knehr did not allow his first hit until the fourth inning.
For the Naturals, Yefri Del Rosario pitched two shutout innings before being replaced by Nolan Watson. It was Northwest Arkansas who broke free in the fifth inning to score the game’s first runs.
Knehr allowed a lead-off walk to MJ Melendez. Travis Jones followed that up with a single. The damage came from the Brewer Hicklen who drove in both runners with his first triple of the season.
The Missions had a scoring opportunity in the bottom of the fifth inning. With one out, Dwanya Williams-Sutton and Olivier Basabe hit back-to-back singles which placed Williams-Sutton on third base. Chandler Seagle hit a ground ball to the first baseman who caught Williams-Sutton in a run down and eventually tagged him out before reaching home plate.
Knehr was relieved by Carlos Belen heading into the sixth inning. The Naturals scored a run on two hits before he could record an out. Bobby Witt, Jr. began the inning with a double. Nick Pratto followed that up with a single to score Witt, Jr. and increase their lead to 3-0.
The Missions fought back in the sixth inning and tied the game. The Missions placed runners on the corners with one out after a walk and a base hit. Jack Suwinski ripped a single to right field to score Eguy Rosario put the Missions on the board. After a ground out, Williams-Sutton lined a base hit into center field to score two more runs and tie the game.
The Naturals used small ball techniques to regain the lead in the seventh inning. After a lead-off single and a throwing error, Rudy Martin drove in a run with sacrifice bunt to give Northwest Arkansas a 4-3 lead. They added a second run in the inning on an RBI single from Clay Dungan to make it a 5-3 game.
San Antonio continued to battle and regained the lead with a three-run seventh inning. Chandler Seagle reached base on a hit by pitch. Following two outs, Seagle scored after a fielding error from Martin. Kyle Overstreet drove in a run with an RBI single. Lastly, Jack Suwinski drove in a run with an RBI double. He was thrown out trying to stretch it to a triple. The Missions took a 6-5 lead.
After a scoreless eighth inning from Nick Kuzia, Jose Quezada came on in the ninth and converted his eighth save of the season.
Post-Game Notes
- With the win, San Antonio improves to 23-18 on the season
- CJ Abrams (#2 Padres prospect, #8 MLB prospect): 0-4, K
- Reiss Knehr (#12 Padres prospect): 5.0 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
- Eguy Rosario (#18 Padres prospect): 0-3, BB, 2 R
- The Missions wore special Negro League jerseys that were auctioned off post-game with the proceeds going to the State of Texas Kidney Foundation.
The Missions will wrap-up their six-game homestand with the Northwest Arkansas Naturals on Sunday, June 20th. Right-hander Adrian Martinez (2-3, 4.06) will start for the Missions against right-hander Jon Heasley (2-1, 3.20) for the Naturals. First pitch at 2:05 p.m.