Hooks Spoil San Antonio’s Home Opener

SAN ANTONIO (April 7, 2026) —  The fireworks started early in the San Antonio Missions’ home opener against the Corpus Christi Hooks as left fielder Joseph Sullivan hammered Missions starter Luis Gutierrez's second pitch of the contest over the right field wall of Nelson W. Wolff Municipal Stadium. The blast proved to be a harbinger of things to come, as the Corpus Christi Hooks (1-3) went on to defeat the San Antonio Missions (1-3) by a score of 6-3.

After that rocky beginning to Gutierrez's first start at The Wolff, he finished the top of the first more steadily. The twentieth-ranked prospect for the San Diego Padres calmed down and went on to retire 10 Hooks in a row throughout the next three innings to complete his outing.

On the other side, Jackson Nezuh initially struggled to keep the Missions off base with some wild pitches and lengthy at bats. In the second, Braedon Karpathios reached with his first hit of the season and kicked off three unanswered runs by the Missions as Albert Fabian knotted the game with a sacrifice fly in that frame. Then in the third, Ethan Salas slashed an RBI double the other way before Romeo Sanabria blooped in a run himself, giving San Antonio a 3-1 lead. Nezuh ended up allowing four hits and three runs across 3.2 innings.

Left-handed pitcher Joey Mancini settled things down for the Hooks in the fourth and fifth, not allowing San Antonio to build any more momentum. The energy fully shifted in the fifth inning after Fernando Sanchez took over pitching duties for San Antonio. Corpus Christi loaded the bases and hooked themselves back into the lead thanks to Yamal Encarnacion’s two-run double, a pair of wild pitches and a Pascanel Ferreras sacrifice fly. By the time the game went to the bottom of the fifth, the Hooks led 5-3.

Trevor Austin, who got the fifth inning rally started, did so again in the sixth with a two-out walk against Andrew Dalquist. Austin scored his second run of the game off a James Nelson RBI double to extend the Corpus lead to 6-3 over the Missions.

Hooks pitchers Mancini, Amilcar Chirinos, Wilmy Sanchez and Alex Santos II shut out the Missions from any late game heroics. Sanabria started off the sixth inning with a single, but Karpathios grounded into a double play after a six pitch at bat. Francisco Acuna doubled to spark another rally in the frame, and Albert Fabian reached first on BB, but Verdugo grounded out to Pascanel Ferreras to end the inning with a man on first and third.

Acuña reached in the ninth, but his risk backfired as he was ruled out attempting to dive to second base after a solid single to begin the final frame. This dashed much remaining hope for San Antonio, and Santos II secured the save.

Up Next:

The Missions and Hooks continue their six-game series on Wednesday at 7:05 p.m. Lefty Jagger Haynes makes his debut against Bryce Mayer. It is Bark in the Park at The Wolff, thanks to North Park Subaru. Dogs are welcome at the ballpark with their human friends! 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.