SPRINGDALE -- San Antonio pitchers stole the show on opening night at Arvest Ballpark.
Three Missions pitchers combined for a three-hitter en route to a 4-0 win over Northwest Arkansas in front of 6,210 fans on a chilly Thursday evening.
San Antonio 4, Northwest Arkansas 0
San Antonio^000^100^030^—^4^6^0
Northwest Arkansas^o00^000^000^—^0^3^0
San Antonio^AB^R^H^RBI^BB^SO^LOB^AVG
Urias, 2B^3^1^1^1^1^0^0^.333
Rondon, Jos, SS^4^0^1^1^0^2^0^.250
Torres, N, LF^4^0^0^0^0^2^2^.000
Reyes, Fr, DH^4^0^1^0^0^1^0^.250
Perez, F, 1B^4^1^1^1^0^1^1^.250
Schulz, RF^4^1^1^0^0^1^1^.250
Stevens, 3B^4^1^1^0^0^0^1^.250
Kennedy, A, C^2^0^0^0^1^2^0^.000
Bousfield, CF^3^0^0^0^0^1^2^.000
Totals^32^4^6^3^2^10^7^
2B: Schulz (1, Redman); Stevens (1, Hill). 3B: Reyes, Fr (1, Fernandez, P). HR: Urias (1, 4th inning off Lovvorn, 0 on, 0 out); Perez, F (1, 8th inning off Redman, 0 on, 0 out).RBI: Urias (1); Perez, F (1); Rondon, Jos (1). LOB: 3.
NW Arkansas^AB^R^H^RBI^BB^SO^LOB^AVG
Dewees Jr., CF^3^0^0^0^1^0^1^.000
Escalera, LF^3^0^0^0^0^2^2^.000
Duenez, 1B^4^0^0^0^0^0^2^.000
Schwindel, DH^4^0^2^0^0^2^0^.500
Ramos, 3B^4^0^0^0^0^3^2^.000
Arteaga, SS^3^0^1^0^0^0^1^.333
Evans, C^3^0^0^0^0^0^2^.000
Moon, RF^3^0^0^0^0^1^0^.000
Lopez, Jac, 2B^2^0^0^0^1^1^0^.000
Totals^29^0^3^0^2^9^10^
2B: Schwindel (1, Lloyd). LOB: 5.
CS: Escalera (1, 2nd base by Lloyd/Kennedy, A). DP: (Lopez, Jac-Arteaga-Duenez).
San Antonio^IP^H^R^ER^BB^SO^HR^ERA
Lloyd (W, 1-0)^5.2^1^0^0^2^4^0^0.00
McGrath (H, 1)^1.1^1^0^0^0^2^0^0.00
Yardley^2.0^1^0^0^0^3^0^0.00
NW Arkansas^IP^H^R^ER^BB^SO^HR^ERA
Lovvorn (L, 0-1)^6.0^1^1^1^0^8^1^1.50
Redman^1.0^2^2^2^0^1^1^18.00
Hill^1.0^2^1^1^2^1^0^9.00
Fernandez, P^1.0^1^0^0^0^0^0^0.00
Redman pitched to 2 batters in the 8th.
HBP: Escalera (by Lloyd).
Umpires: HP: Reid Gibbs. 1B: Cody Oakes. 3B: Justin Robinson. T: 2:29. Att: 6,210.
Starter Kyle Lloyd allowed just one hit over 5 2/3 innings to earn the win. He struck out four, walked two and hit a batter. But the right-hander allowed just one runner to reach second base.
San Antonio manager Phillip Wellman said Lloyd's execution was outstanding.
"Kyle Lloyd kinda set the tone right form the get-go," Wellman said. "He was outstanding. It's not often you open the season with a shutout. That's nice to see. I can't say enough about Kyle and his composure going out there opening night. For this level, that's kind of a big stage. He didn't flinch.
"His splitter was nasty tonight. He's not overpowering, but he mixes that other stuff in there. It makes his fastball that much better."
Luis Urias, rated the No. 6 prospect in the San Diego Padres' organization by Baseball America, slammed a solo home run in the top of the fourth to give the Missions the lead for good.
The Missions broke open a pitchers' duel with three runs in the eighth as Fernando Perez homered leading off the inning. Jose Rondon slapped a two-out, run-scoring single into right field. San Antonio added another run on Austin Bousfield's double-play ball.
Northwest Arkansas manager Vance Wilson tipped his cap to Lloyd.
"It was unorthodox for opening day as far as split-fingers and curve ball," Wilson said. "I thought he did a great job keeping us off the fastball. He pitched when he needed it and did a good job."
The Naturals managed just one extra-base hit and that was Frank Schwindel's double over the center fielder's head leading off the bottom of the second. But he ran into an out at third base, and Zane Evans' drive died at the base of the left-field wall to end the inning. Northwest Arkansas didn't manage another hit until Humberto Arteaga's two-out single in the bottom of the seventh.
"Zane's ball is usually out of here, that was a little bad break and then we had a little blunder on the bases," Wilson said.
Short Hops
• Schwindel accounted for two of the Naturals' three hits with a double and a single in the ninth.
• San Antonio relievers Kyle McGrath and Eric Yardley combined for 3.1 innings of shutout relief. They allowed two hits, struck out five and did not walk a batter.
• Naturals starting pitcher Zach Lovvorn was outstanding in his Double-A debut. The 22-year-old right-hander allowed just one run on one hit over six innings. He struck out eight and did not walk a man.
On Deck: The Naturals continue a three-game series against San Antonio. Northwest Arkansas sends LHP Eric Skoglund to the mound against San Antonio's RHP Michael Kelly. First pitch slated for 7:05 p.m.
Today's Promotion: Post-game fireworks display.
On The Air: KQSM-FM 92.1
On The Web: www.nwanaturals.com
Sports on 04/07/2017