Missions Escape with Wild Win in Tulsa

TULSA, Okla. (April 3, 2026) — On a rainy Friday night, an 11-2 lead in the seventh turned into a dangerously close 11-9 win for the San Antonio Missions (1-1) over the Tulsa Drillers (1-1). Tulsa brought the winning-run to the plate in the ninth inning, but Michael Flynn—San Antonio’s seventh pitcher of the evening—got Kyle Nevin to ground into a game-ending double play to secure the nail-biting victory for the Missions.

The Drillers out-hit the Missions 14-7, but San Antonio rode 15 walks to 11 runs. A big blast came in the second inning when Albert Fabian sent a three-run homer to the opposite field. Ryan Jackson added three RBIs and Carson Tucker doubled twice to pace San Antonio’s extremely patient approach.

San Antonio roughed up Tulsa starter Adam Serwinowski early. After a pair of walks, Tucker attacked the first pitch he’s seen as a Mission and roped it to right field, driving in a run and coasting into second with a double. Two pitches later, Fabian smoked his three-run shot to left field, giving the Missions the 4-0 lead in the second.

Miguel Mendez utilized that lead and pitched around some traffic to finish 3.2 innings of work. He allowed a run on a sacrifice fly in the third, but he never faced true trouble in his 2026 debut and did touch 100mph on the radar gun.

Once Tulsa got on the board, San Antonio wasted no time answering back. Ryan Jackson pulled a double down the left field line to bring two more runs across, so San Antonio’s lead grew to 6-1.

After Fernando Sanchez recorded a single out to cap Mendez’s night, Eric Yost entered as a piggyback. He stranded two runners in the fifth, but in the sixth he loaded the bases and looked uncomfortable on a rain-soaked mound. After a wild pitch brought in Tulsa’s second run and another walk to load the bases once more, Yost exited the game with athletic trainer Juan Peña.

Sadrac Franco, in his first appearance as a Mission, had to face the Dodgers’ top prospect in Josue De Paula as he represented the tying run in an emergency situation. Franco forced De Paula to bounce out to third, where Tucker ranged over to make a nifty play that kept the Missions ahead.

The seventh inning turned into a merry-go-round for the Missions. Chris Sargent drove in a run with a single before the Missions drew four consecutive walks at one point, forcing the Drillers to use three pitchers in the frame. By the time Drillers fans got to stretch headed to the bottom half of the seventh, the Missions’ lead ballooned to 11-2.

Things got far from comfortable, however. Franco allowed a pair of singles before Joe Vetrano hit a three-run homer to make it 11-5. Then as Manuel Castro came in, things continued to tense up. Kendall George hit a bullet right off Castro, eventually forcing the righty out of the game early and hobbled just like Yost earlier. When Andrew Dalquist took over, Nevin greeted him with yet another three-run bomb. Suddenly, the Missions led just 11-8.

Dalquist faced the tying-run but managed to get the game to the ninth, where he stayed on the mound. The first two runners reached against Dalquist, and De Paula singled one of them in to make it 11-9. Dalquist handed the ball to manager Chris Tremie, who then gave the rock to Flynn. On just the second pitch he threw, Flynn induced Nevin’s double play and let the Missions breathe a sigh of relief with their first win of the season.

Up Next:

The Missions and Drillers conclude their three-game series on Saturday night at 7:00 p.m. Righty Ian Koenig takes the bump for San Antonio while righty Patrick Copen throws for Tulsa. Catch all the action on Country Legends KKYX, 680 AM, 104.9 FM and kkyx.com.

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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 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.