Northwest Arkansas Naturals Defeat San Antonio Missions 3-2 in Double-A Win

MLN - THE RAW FEED - www.mlntherawfeed.com – SURPRISE, AZ – Smart baserunning and heads-up play in a pivotal sixth inning propelled the Northwest Arkansas Naturals to a 3-2 win over the San Antonio Missions, the San Diego Padres’ Double-A affiliate, on Sunday.

Center fielder Jose Duarte led off and singled, and got to third on a drag bunt by Ovandy Suero.  Mario Lission followed and grounded into a fielder’s choice, scoring Duarte.  The speedy Suero was then able to score from second base on a groundout by Kila Kaaihue, putting the Naturals up 3-1.  Kiel Thibault’s fifth-inning solo HR put the Naturals on the board and cemented his solid day (2-for-2, BB).  The Naturals had nine hits on the day.

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Paul Mildren started for the Naturals and was near perfect, yielding just a walk while striking out three before reaching his pitch count with one out to go in the fifth.  Dusty Hughes took over and allowed two runs over the final 4 1/3 innings, but it was enough to earn the victory. 

The Naturals have a total of 13 spring games on their Arizona schedule before breaking camp on March 28^th.  Monday, the Naturals will face the Frisco RoughRiders, the Texas Rangers Double-A affiliate, in Surprise.

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