Missions Hold Hooks Hitless Until Ninth, Take Series Finale with Shutout 

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (July 6, 2025) – The San Antonio Missions (5-7, 44-37) used Henry Baez, Jake Higginbotham, Tyson Neighbors and Ethan Routzahn to shut out the Corpus Christi Hooks (7-5, 29-51) in a 5-0 win. The Hooks’ only hit on Sunday came in the ninth inning, when Tommy Sacco Jr. grounded a ball into right field

Anthony Vilar took care of the early scoring for the Missions. In the second, he drove in Albert Fabian on a sacrifice fly before bringing home Devin Ortiz with a triple in the fourth. Both runs went against Hooks starter Ethan Pecko.

After five nearly flawless innings in which Baez, the reigning Texas League Pitcher of the Month, only walked three and struck out six, Higginbotham took the mound. The lefty immediately set down the Hooks with some help from center fielder Kai Murphy, who made a sliding grab on a line drive off the bat of Zach Cole to maintain the no-hitter.

Neighbors hit Trevor Austin with one out in the seventh, but he erased him on the next pitch when Garret Guillemette bounced into an inning-ending double play. After seven, the Missions led 2-0 and the Hooks still didn’t have a hit.

San Antonio added insurance in the eighth. Romeo Sanabria continued his great hitting at Whataburger Field when he swatted an opposite-field two-run homer onto the left-field berm. Vilar then added his third RBI of the day on a groundout, so San Antonio held a 5-0 lead as the game went to the bottom of the eighth.

Neighbors struck out a pair in a clean eighth, so the Hooks remained hitless into the ninth. The Missions went down quickly, allowing Routzahn to enter from the bullpen for the final three outs. On the fifth pitch delivered by Routzahn, Sacco Jr. snuck a single into right field to break up the no-hitter. Despite the hit allowed, Routzahn wrapped up the 5-0 shutout and sent the Missions towards Kansas in a great mood.

UP NEXT:

The Missions have an off day tomorrow as they head north to Wichita, Kansas to face the Wind Surge. First pitch on Tuesday is at 7:05 p.m. Starters are yet to be announced. 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.

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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 123 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.