Sod Poodles, Missions Each Grab Win in Wednesday Doubleheader 

SAN ANTONIO (Aug. 20, 2025) – After their series opener got rained out on Tuesday, the Amarillo Sod Poodles (29-18, 61-55) and San Antonio Missions (18-29, 57-59) split their doubleheader at The Wolff on Wednesday evening.

In game one, the Missions pulled off a furious comeback. They trailed 4-1 in the fifth, but three runs in that frame tied it while an Albert Fabian go-ahead homer in the sixth provided the lead. Garrett Hawkins, who entered with the tie and held on to the lead, earned his first Double-A win.

Amarillo responded with a game two win as Jose Cabrera tossed six strong innings and used early support to secure a split.

Game One

Francisco Acuña fired the opening shot with an RBI double before Amarillo starter Mitch Bratt could even record an out. Acuña advanced to third on the throw home, but despite being 90 feet away with no one out, San Antonio couldn’t bring him home. Still, the Missions jumped out to a 1-0 lead.

That lead evaporated faster than yesterday’s rain as Jose Fernandez tied things up in the second with a solo homer to left off Missions starter Miguel Mendez. Bratt and Mendez matched each other with zeroes in the third and fourth frames, but Amarillo broke through in the fifth. Christian Cerda scraped a homer over the left-center field wall to place the Sod Poodles ahead before a Jean Walters RBI double and LuJames Groover RBI groundout made it 4-1 Amarillo.

The Missions fought back with help from their newbies. With one away in the bottom of the fifth, Braedon Karpathios tripled and scored on Ryan Jackson’s single. For both Karpathios and Jackson, this was their first game in a San Antonio uniform after getting called up from High-A Fort Wayne. Oswaldo Linares joined the former TinCaps on base with a single, and both he and Jackson scored when Acuña laced a two-out, two run single to left that tied the game at 4-4. This also forced Bratt, the former Frisco RoughRider, out of the game as he allowed more runs today than in his previous five starts against San Antonio combined.

Ryan Och held Amarillo down and turned the game to Hawkins with a runner at second and two outs in the sixth. Hawkins entered and froze Jean Walters on a punchout, keeping the game tied.

Zane Russell, who relieved Bratt, started the sixth with two quick outs. Then, even on a clear Alamo City evening, lightning struck. Fabian crushed a ball to right, and it carried over the wall for a go-ahead home run.

Hawkins remained on the mound for the seventh and swam in deep waters when Ryan Waldschmidt tripled with just one out, bringing Groover to the plate. Groover chopped a ball to shortstop, where Acuña made a terrific play to field the ball and gun down Waldschmidt to save San Antonio’s lead. Hawkins then fanned Gavin Conticello, sealing San Antonio’s game one comeback win.

Game Two

The Sod Poodles got to work right away off Missions starter Eric Yost in the first inning. Fernandez singled in the first tally, Caleb Roberts walked with the bases loaded to drive in another and Cerda knocked a third in with a sacrifice fly to make it 3-0 Amarillo before the Missions even batted.

Amarillo added a run in the third on a fielder’s choice, so their starter, Cabrera, received a healthy head start. He ran with it, not allowing a hit until the fourth inning, but even then he worked around a leadoff single to maintain the shutout.

San Antonio crept back into the game in the sixth. As Cabrera continued, Damon Dues pulled a solo homer to right-center field. Romeo Sanabria liked what he saw, so he did the same as Dues, lifting one over the right-field fence. The two bullets cut Amarillo’s advantage in half to 4-2.

Harry Gustin, in his Missions' debut, threw two great innings to give San Antonio a chance. Kevin Kopps also provided a clean inning of relief and brought San Antonio's bats to the plate in the seventh. Devin Ortiz walked to bring the tying-run to the plate, but Landon Sims shut the door and ended the night with both teams taking home a win.

UP NEXT:

The Missions and Sod Poodles continue their six-game series on Thursday at 7:05 p.m. Lefty Jagger Haynes (3-2, 4.20) goes for San Antonio while righty Roman Angelo (3-9, 5.40) starts for Amarillo. 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.