SPRINGDALE, Ark - First baseman Samir Dueñez collected his third double and fourth RBI of the young season but the Northwest Arkansas Naturals (1-4) would ultimately fall to the San Antonio Missions (4-1) by a 5-2 final at Arvest Ballpark on Monday night in Game 2 of this 3-game set.
SPRINGDALE, Ark - First baseman Samir Dueñez collected his third double and fourth RBI of the young season but the Northwest Arkansas Naturals (1-4) would ultimately fall to the San Antonio Missions (4-1) by a 5-2 final at Arvest Ballpark on Monday night in Game 2 of this 3-game set. The Naturals will look to salvage the series finale tomorrow morning.
With Northwest Arkansas trailing 5-0 in the ninth, the Naturals would get a couple of runs on the board as Nathan Esposito began the frame with a walk. Nicky Lopez then would reach on a fielder's choice as Esposito slid in safe at second on an error. After a couple of outs, Duenez drilled a double in the gap in left-center to record the two Naturals runs in the game.
San Antonio scored first with a run in the second inning as Kyle Overstreet led off with a single and then moved to third on a Michael Gettys double to left-center field. Overstreet then came into score on a RBI groundout by River Stevens for a 1-0 lead. The Missions would go on to tack on a few more runs in the fifth to extend their lead to 3-0. The first tally came on a run-scoring triple to right-center field by the highly regarded Fernando Tatis, Jr., whom scored the second run on a wild pitch.
In the eighth, the Missions would add some insurance by way of the long ball. Austin Allen and Overstreet each connected on solo home runs to give the current leaders of the Texas League South Division a 5-0 lead that was too much to overcome.
RHP Glenn Sparkman (L, 0-1) got the start for the Naturals and was solid on the night as he allowed three runs on seven hits through 4.2 innings. His counterpart, RHP Jesse Scholtens (W, 1-0) was impressive in his Double-A debut for San Antonio as the tall right-hander fired 6.0 scoreless innings and gave up only two hits while recording eight strikeouts. Northwest Arkansas saw RHP Jason Adam continue his stellar form out of the bullpen as the veteran tossed 2.1 scoreless innings and struck out three.
Northwest Arkansas will conclude their opening 6-game homestand tomorrow morning - Tuesday, April 10 - with the series finale against the San Antonio Missions (Double-A San Diego Padres) at Arvest Ballpark. First pitch is slated for 11:05 a.m. on an Education Day Game presented by SWEPCO. In a highly touted pitching matchup, the Naturals will send LHP Foster Griffin (0-0, 3.00 ERA) to the mound while the Missions will counter with former 2016 first round pick RHP Cal Quantrill (0-0, 2.45 ERA). Catch all of the live play-by-play action with the Voice of the Naturals Benjamin Kelly on KQSM 92.1 The Ticket beginning at 10:45 a.m. for the Indigo Sky Casino Pregame Show leading up to first pitch against the Double-A Padres at Arvest Ballpark.
Follow the Northwest Arkansas Naturals on Facebook and Twitter @NWANaturals all throughout the year by using the hashtag #NaturalPastime and #CrowntoCrown for all of our up-to-date information on the 2018 season of Naturals baseball.
The Northwest Arkansas Naturals are the Double-A Texas League Affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. The Naturals play at state-of-the-art Arvest Ballpark in Springdale, Ark. For more information, including statistics, ticket options, and more, please visit NWANaturals.com, and follow us on Twitter @NWANaturals and Facebook.com/Naturals.
-Naturals-
