Wolf Twirls Another Gem, Missions Lose in Extras 

SAN ANTONIO, (April 19, 2025) – The pitcher’s duel between the Naturals and Missions was as advertised in San Antonio Saturday night, as both offenses were silenced through eleven innings. However, it was the Naturals who ultimately came out on top 6-0 after pulling away in the 12th inning thanks to a Jac Caglianone grand slam.

As the late great Yogi Berra famously remarked, “It’s deja vu all over again.” This describes Missions starter Jackson Wolf’s back-to-back starts. Building on the gem he pitched last week in Corpus Christi, the southpaw completed five innings, shutting out the Naturals’ offense while striking out five. Three hits were all Northwest Arkansas could muster against him before manager Luke Montz turned to Manuel Castro in the top of the sixth inning.

For Castro, making his fifth appearance on the year, it was more of the same completing two scoreless, getting all outs but one via the strikeout.

David Morgan came in to relieve Castro in his sixth appearance of the year and pitched two scoreless frames striking out three Naturals batters and sending the game to extras. A Northwest Arkansas go-ahead run in the top of the ninth was avoided after a lead-off single by Naturals shortstop Jordan Groshans was followed up by a double lined down the left field line by right fielder Brett Squires. Groshans got the green light as San Antonio left-fielder Moises Gòmez hit cut-off man Francisco Acuña, who nailed Groshans at the plate.

With ghost runner Diego Hernandez at second, Josè Geraldo was called upon to get the scoreless game to the bottom of the tenth. He did so by striking out two Naturals.

After having eight hits scattered throughout nine scoreless innings, the Missions bats squandered a golden opportunity in the bottom of the tenth. Ghost runner Kai Murphy moved to third on an Acuña sacrifice bunt. Both Romeo Sanabria and Gòmez were intentionally walked to load the bases, but Northwest Arkansas reliever Natanael Garabitos stymied the offense and sent the game to the eleventh.

Castro, Morgan and Geraldo all maintained their perfect ERAs as part of an elite San Antonio bullpen.

The next bullpen arm to come out blazing for San Antonio was Eduarniel Nuñez. The right-hander pitched a scoreless eleventh but allowed the two Norwest Arkansas runs to come across. Ghost runner Jack Pineda came around to score on a Kale Emshoff infield single. Nuñez then walked in Brett Squires and the Naturals took a 2-0 lead and Stephen Jones was brought in to stop the threat.

After Jones got the first batter he faced to line out, Caglianone opened the flood gates and deposited a grand slam into right field to give Northwest Arkansas a 6-0 lead which would end up being the final score of the ball game. The blast was sent 431 feet and was 114 mph off the bat.

UP NEXT:

The Missions conclude their six-game home series looking for a series win against the Northwest Arkansas Naturals on Sunday afternoon at Wolff Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. Victor Lizarraga (0-0, 6.75) goes for the Missions looking to close out the series with his first win of the season. The Naturals will send Ryan Ramsey (1-0, 4.66). 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 2025 season will be the 123rd professional season for the San Antonio Missions. The 2025 schedule is out now! Call 210-675- 7275 to discuss pricing for season tickets, group tickets and hospitality packages. The Missions Box Office is cashless, and fans can purchase tickets using credit cards. For more information, call 210-675-7275 or visit samissions.com.