San Antonio Pulls Out Thrilling 1-0 Victory 

SAN ANTONIO – The San Antonio Missions continued their six-game series with the Midland RockHounds on Friday night. A lively crowd witnessed a pitcher’s duel between the Texas League South rivals. The Missions scored the first and only run of the game in the seventh inning, and that proved to be all the pitching staff needed as three hurlers combined for a shutout.

Ryan Bergert took the mound as the starting pitcher for San Antonio with the home team wearing their Military City jerseys. A 4-6-3 double play helped him work around a double and an error in the first.

Joe Boyle started for Midland. He threw just 10 pitches in a perfect first inning and followed that up with a clean second frame as well. A walk to Connor Hollis in the third gave the Missions their first base runner of the night, and he reached scoring position by stealing second. Boyle retired the next three batters, however, to keep it a 0-0 game going to the fourth.

Bergert rolled after the first. He set down nine RockHounds in a row including three via strikeout. Cameron Masterman broke the streak when he began the fifth inning with a double. Bergert locked in and stranded Masterman at second to maintain the scoreless tie.

In the bottom of the fifth, Juan Zabala doubled with one out to give the Missions a chance to score. Boyle had other plans. He struck out Justin Farmer and got Ripken Reyes to fly out for the last outs of the inning.

The RockHounds began getting aggressive on the bases in the sixth. Cooper Bowman walked and then stole both second and third base. Max Muncy also drew a base on balls to put runners at the corners, chasing Bergert from the game. Justin Lopez entered in relief and induced a weak ground ball to escape the jam.

With the heart of the Missions order up in the sixth, Boyle refused to flinch. He continued his dominance with a 1-2-3 inning, keeping the game scoreless headed to the seventh inning.

Lopez stayed on for the seventh, and for good reason. He had little trouble getting three more outs, letting the crowd stretch during a tied game.

The Missions started their half of the seventh with a bang as Marcos Castañon doubled to the right-center field fence. Hollis mimicked him with a double, but Castañon had to hold up to see if the ball would drop in right field, so he only made it to third base. The consecutive doubles were enough to knock Boyle out of the game, and he was replaced by Jack Weisenburger.

On Weisenburger’s first pitch, Sabala lined a sacrifice fly to left field that broke the tie and put the Missions on top. Back-to-back walks loaded the bases for Jackson Merrill, setting up a massive moment. Merrill flew out to left field, so San Antonio’s lead was just 1-0 after seven innings of play.

After getting the lead, San Antonio sent Lopez out to the mound again in the eighth. He made that decision look flawless, mowing through three more RockHounds. Lopez retired all seven batters he faced on the evening.

Weisenburger recovered with a swifter eighth inning, sending the game to the ninth with the Missions up 1-0. Efrain Contreras came out looking for the save. After a quick out, Contreras allowed a walk and hit a batter. With two outs, Contreras walked another RockHound to load the bases. On a two-strike count, the Wolff Stadium faithful rose in unison, and they roared when Contreras blew a fastball past William Simoneit to clinch a 1-0 win.

Post-Game Notes

• Final Score: 1-0
• With the win, San Antonio improves to 20-23 & 57-55 on the season
• Reyes: 43 HBP (Tied for single-season MiLB record)
• Jackson Merrill (#2 Padres prospect, #9 MLB): 0-4
• Jairo Iriarte (#6 Padres prospect): Scheduled to pitch Saturday, August 19th
• Adam Mazur (#7 Padres prospect): DNP
• Ryan Bergert (#16 Padres prospect): 5.2 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 4 K
• Marcos Castanon (#23 Padres prospect): 1-2, R, 2 BB
• Max Muncy (#10 Athletics prospect): 2-3, BB
• Joe Boyle (#24 A’s prospect, RockHounds starter): 6.1 IP, 4 H, ER, 2 BB, 8 K

The San Antonio Missions will continue their six-game homestand with the Midland RockHounds on Saturday, August 19th. Right-hander Jairo Iriarte (0-0, 3.09) is scheduled to pitch for the Missions. The RockHounds have not yet announced their starting pitcher. Saturday’s First pitch is slated for 7:05 p.m. from Nelson Wolff Stadium.

The San Antonio Missions are the Double-A affiliate for the San Diego Padres. The 2023 season is the 121st professional season for the San Antonio Missions. Postseason tickets are on sale now! Season seat memberships, as well as group tickets, for the 2023 season are available now. Call 210-675-PARK to discuss pricing for season tickets, group tickets and hospitality. Single game tickets are on sale now. The Missions Box Office will be cashless this season. Fans can purchase tickets at the box office using credit cards. For more information on the upcoming season call 210-675-PARK (7275) or visit samissions.com.