Photo: Missions Baseball/WOAI
After rain suspended Tuesday night’s game, the Missions and Cardinals finished that game and played a seven-inning contest Wednesday night. The Missions took game one 10-5. They blew a lead in game two and lost to Springfield 10-3.
After a rough loss on Sunday, the Missions offense wasted no time getting runs on the board. They plated three runners in the bottom of the first inning.
Eguy Rosario began the inning with a single before stealing second base. With one out in the inning, Jose Azocar launched a two-run home run to give the Missions a 2-0 lead. Jack Suwinski followed that with a single before advancing to second base on a passed ball. Kyle Overstreet made it a 3-0 ballgame after driving in Suwinski with an RBI single.
Springfield began their comeback attempt by scoring twice in the top of the second inning. Facing Ethan Elliott, Justin Toerner began the inning with a base hit and advanced to second after a single from Irving Lopez. A third single from Delvin Perez. With the bases loaded, Nick Plummer was hit by a pitch to plate the first run. Ivan Herrera hit a sacrifice fly to score the second run.
The Cardinals took their first lead of the night after Ivan Herrera drove in a run with a sacrifice fly. The Cardinals had a 4-3 advantage.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, the Missions regained the lead with a two-run inning. With the rain looming, Dwanya Williams-Sutton belted a 432-foot home run to tie the game. The rain came down following the long ball and forced the game to be suspended until Wednesday evening.
Picking up where they left off, the Missions regained the lead with an RBI single from Ben Ruta. San Antonio had a 5-4 lead. San Antonio added two insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. Azocar drove in two runs with a line drive single to right field. He finished the game with four RBI.
Kelvin Melean made it an 8-4 game after picking up an RBI single in the bottom of the seventh inning. Springfield added a run in the top of the eighth inning. Irving Lopez hit a triple and scored on a ground out.
The Missions plated two more runs in the bottom of the eighth inning. Overstreet picked up his third hit of the game and drove in Azocar with an RBI single. Suwinski, who reached on a walk, scored on a passed ball. The Missions led 10-5 and went on to win by that score.
In game two of the evening, the Missions offense jumped to an early lead. Allen Cordoba drove in two runs with a line drive single to left field. Azocar and Suwinski scored on the play and made it a 2-0 ballgame.
The Missions added an insurance run in the bottom of the second inning. Williams-Sutton reached on a double and advanced to third base on a fly out. He later scored on a wild pitch from Tyler Pike.
After five scoreless innings, Springfield began their comeback effort by scoring two runs in the top of the sixth inning against Matt Waldron. Luken Baker drove in a run with an RBI single. Malcom Nunez drove in the second run with an RBI ground out. The Missions were still ahead 3-2.
The ninth inning proved to be a disaster for the San Antonio Missions. Carlos Belen and Pedro Avila combined to allow eight runs (two earned) on seven hits, with three errors committed. Rosario began the inning with a fielding error. Olivier Basabe committed a fielding error on a ground ball which kept the inning alive. Rosario committed a second fielding error on a pickoff attempt from Avila. The Missions trailed 10-3 following the half inning.
Post-Game Notes
- With a Wednesday night split, San Antonio is now 32-35 on the season
- Eguy Rosario (#18 Padres prospect): 3-7, 2B, 2 R, SB, 2 K (Combined in both games)
- Matt Waldron (AA Debut): 6.0 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 K
The San Antonio Missions will continue their six-game series with Springfield on Thursday, July 22nd. Right-hander Jordan Humphreys (0-0, 9.28) will pitch for the Missions. Right-hander Andre Pallante (3-3, 3.09) is scheduled to start for Springfield. First pitch will be at 7:05 p.m.