Missions Cling to 1-0 Win in Series Finale with Hooks

SAN ANTONIO (April 12, 2026) — Five Missions pitchers—spearheaded by Luis Gutierrez—combined to shut out the Corpus Christi Hooks (4-5) and hand the San Antonio Missions (3-6) a 1-0 win. A passed ball with the bases loaded in the second inning proved to be the only tally the Missions needed to take their second straight game against the Hooks.

Gutierrez, the Venezuelan lefty, got his second start in this series against the Hooks and held them scoreless through five innings. The calm yet confident Gutierrez had his arsenal on full display in this matchup, and he hit the ground running with a 1-2-3 first. That beginning foreshadowed the rest, as he followed that with six strikeouts across five clean innings to allow the Missions an opportunity to play with a lead, a rare circumstance for San Antonio in this series. The San Diego Padres’ 20th ranked prospect allowed two walks and a lone hit to Tyler Whitaker, a potential threat that was quickly erased in the third by a nifty 6-4-3 double play.

That lead for San Antonio came when Hooks starter Trey Dombroski gifted Luis Verdugo and Chris Sargent Jr. free passes to first base in the second. These walks would come back to bite Corpus Christi, as Carson Tucker would join the party with a single to load the bases on Dombroski. A passed ball then got away from Hooks catcher Garret Guillemette, letting Verdugo sprint across home plate to put San Antonio up 1-0.

With a run in hand, the Missions never looked back. Redemption became the story, first when Francis Peña took over pitching duties in the sixth looking to recover from allowing five free tickets to the Hooks in Wednesday's back-and-forth extra-inning showdown between division foes. Today, Peña dominated with two strikeouts of Hooks home run threats, Pascanel Ferreras and Joseph Sullivan, and finished a clean frame.

Johan Moreno set down his three Hooks in order quickly before the rain began to pour in San Antonio. A brief 29-minute delay commenced, but it couldn’t disrupt the Missions’ staff. Andrew Dalquist entered after the tarp left the field, and he worked around a leadoff walk with help from Sargent Jr., who caught Trevor Austin trying to steal, to head to the ninth still ahead.

That’s where Sadrac Franco took the mound with a chance to flip Friday’s script. Two nights ago, Franco gave up a two-run homer to Ferreras with the Missions up 1-0 and two outs in the ninth, leading to a Hooks 2-1 win. This afternoon, Franco allowed a single to Ferreras with two away, but this time he blew a fastball by Walker Janek to secure San Antonio’s 1-0 win.

Up Next:

The Missions have the day off Monday before heading to Midland for a six-game series with the RockHounds. Tuesday’s first pitch is at 6:30 p.m. in the Permian Basin. Catch all the action on Country Legends KKYX, 680 AM, 104.9 FM and kkyx.com. Tickets are available at samissions.com or by calling 210-675-7275.

The San Antonio Missions are the Double-A affiliate for the San Diego Padres. The Missions were established in 1888 and have brought affordable family fun to the Alamo City for more than 120 seasons. The 13-time Texas League champions play their home games at Nelson W. Wolff Municipal Stadium. For more information and tickets, call 210-675-7275 or visit samissions.com.