SPRINGDALE -- San Antonio continued its dominance over Northwest Arkansas Wednesday at Arvest Ballpark.
The Missions scored four runs in the fifth inning and went on to defeat the Naturals 8-1 before a crowd of 2,930. Ronald Herrera (2-0) pitched a four-hitter over eight innings while Yeison Ascencio led the Missions at the plate with three hits and two RBI.
SAN ANTONIO 8, NORTHWEST ARKANSAS 1
San Antonio^000^040^300—^8^10^0
Northwest Arkansas^000^000^010—^1^4^2
San Antonio^AB^R^H^RBI^BB^SO^LOB^AVG
Domoromo, 1B^4^2^1^0^1^0^0^.266
McElroy, DH^4^0^1^2^0^1^0^.261
Martinez, A, CF^4^1^2^2^1^1^1^.288
Renfroe, RF^5^0^1^0^0^0^6^.261
Asencio, LF^5^1^3^2^0^1^2^.306
Jones, D, 3B^5^0^0^0^0^2^5^.238
Goris, SS^3^1^0^0^1^0^0^.263
Reina, C^2^2^1^1^1^1^0^.178
Gonzalez, B, 2B^3^1^1^1^0^0^1^.227
Totals^35^8^10^8^4^6^15^
RBI: Reina (5), Gonzalez, B (4), McElroy 2 (28), Martinez, A 2 (50), Asencio 2 (66). SF: Gonzalez, B. LOB: 7. CS: Asencio (3).
NW Arkansas^AB^R^H^RBI^BB^SO^LOB^AVG
Mondesi, SS^3^0^0^1^0^1^0^.239
Adams, L, CF^4^0^0^0^0^0^2^.279
Bonifacio, J, RF^3^0^0^0^1^2^2^.235
Liddi, 1B^4^0^1^0^0^2^0^.272
Dozier, 3B^3^0^0^0^1^2^2^.219
Morin, P, C^3^0^0^0^1^0^3^.349
Evans, DH^4^1^1^0^0^1^2^.240
Diekroeger, 2B-LF^3^0^1^0^0^0^0^.269
Gore, LF^2^0^0^0^0^1^0^.294
Torres, Ra, 2B^1^0^1^0^0^0^0^.282
Totals^30^1^4^1^3^9^11^
2B: Liddi (29). RBI: Mondesi (30). SF: Mondesi. LOB: 6. E: Diekroeger (4) Adams, L (6). DP: 1 (Dozier-Liddi).
San Antonio^IP^H^R^ER^BB^SO^HR^ERA
Herrera, R (W, 2-0)^8.0^4^1^1^2^8^0^5.32
Hebner^1.0^0^0^0^1^1^0^2.08
NW Arkansas^IP^H^R^ER^BB^SO^HR^ERA
Zimmer (L, 1-2)^4.1^2^3^3^2^4^0^2.76
Stumpf^0.2^2^1^1^1^0^0^4.07
Pruneda^1.0^4^3^3^0^1^0^4.97
Selman^3.0^2^1^1^1^1^0^5.48
Pruneda pitched to 5 batters in the 7th.
HBP: Reina (by Pruneda), McElroy (by Pruneda).
Pitches-strikes: Herrera, R 104-65, Hebner 18-11, Zimmer 73-46, Stumpf 20-12, Pruneda 33-18, Selman 47-31.
Ejections: San Antonio Missions Manager Rod Barajas ejected by HP umpire Matthew Czajak (6th)
Umpires: HP: Matthew Czajak. 1B: Lee Meyers. 3B: Nestor Ceja.
T: 2:44. Att: 2,930.
Northwest Arkansas trailed 7-0 before the Naturals finally scored in the eighth on a sacrifice fly by Raul Mondesi.
The win for San Antonio was the seventh in eight games this season against the Naturals, who fell to 56-59 overall after capturing the first-half division championship in the Texas League North. San Antonio improved to 51-65 overall.
The Naturals managed three singles and a double after being held to six hits in Tuesday's 4-2 loss to the Missions.
"We were very sloppy, which falls on me with the fundamentals, and we'll fix it," Northwest Arkansas Manager Vance Wilson said. "This time of year is tough and there's nothing you can do to combat it except to make sure you're focused on the fundamentals."
Neither team had a hit until Alex Liddi lined a double over the center fielder's head for Northwest Arkansas in the fourth inning. The hit advanced Jorge Bonifacio to third base, but he was left stranded when Herrera struck out Hunter Dozier and got Parker Morin on a grounder to short to end the threat.
San Antonio broke the game open in the fifth with the help of four hits, two walks, and an error by Lane Adams in center field that allowed a runner to advance into scoring position. The surge was plenty enough for Herrera (2-0), who struck out eight and walked two.
SHORT HOPS
• Benji Gonzalez broke two bats while at the plate for San Antonio in the third inning. Most of his first bat flew into the third row behind the Naturals' dugout when he fouled off a pitch from Kyle Zimmer. Gonzalez then grounded out to end the inning when he broke another bat that landed near shortstop Raul Mondesi.
- San Antonio starter Ronald Herrea allowed one run on four hits before being replaced in the ninth inning. He was strongest in the middle innings when he retired the sides on nine pitches in the fifth and 11 pitches in the sixth and seventh innings.
Extra Bases: Northwest Arkansas starter Kyle Zimmer didn't allow a hit until the fourth inning when the Missions broke loose for four runs. Zimmer was charged with three runs and three hits in 4.1 innings. He walked two and struck out four. ... Northwest Arkansas had only one hit through seven innings against 20-year-old right-hander Herrera, who lasted just three innings in his previous start against Frisco. ... The Missions combined for 10 hits against four Northwest Arkansas pitchers.
On Deck: The teams will conclude their three-game series beginning at 7:05 p.m. tonight with left-hander Jonathan Dziedric (7-6, 3.23 ERA) taking the mound for the Naturals against right-hander Casey Kelly (1-6, 4.17 ERA) for the Missions. The Naturals will then begin a home series with Corpus Christi on Friday.
Promotions: Thirsty Thursday, which means $2 for draft beers and $1 on items like peanuts and Mozzarella sticks.
On The Air: 92.1-FM, The Ticket
On The Web: www.naturals.com
Sports on 08/13/2015