Missions’ season ends with loss to Sod Poodles

Connor Hollis was the only player from the San Antonio Missions' opening day starting lineup on April 6 who was also in the starting lineup in their final game on Friday night at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Connor Hollis was the only player from the San Antonio Missions’ opening day starting lineup on April 6 who was also in the starting lineup in their final game on Friday night at Wolff Stadium. – photo by Joe Alexander
The San Antonio Missions lost to the Amarillo Sod Poodles 6-3 on Friday at Wolff Stadium in the deciding game of the Texas League South playoffs.

Amarillo piled up 11 hits including five for extra bases.

The Sod Poodles scored four runs in the top of the fourth inning to take a 4-1 lead and the Missions never caught up.

Amarillo will play the Arkansas Travelers in the best-of-three Texas League Championship series beginning Sunday. Arkansas clinched its North playoff series with a 14-1 victory over Springfield.

Missions fall to Sod Poodles; Game 3 to decide playoff series

The Missions and Sod Poodles stand on the field for the National Anthem before Thursday's playoff game. The San Antonio Missions lost to the Amarillo Sod Poodles 7-4 on Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023, in Game 2 of the Texas League playoffs at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
The Missions and Sod Poodles stand on the field for the National Anthem before Thursday’s playoff game.
The Amarillo Sod Poodles beat the San Antonio Missions 7-4 in Game 2 of their Texas League playoff series on Thursday night at Wolff Stadium.

The best-of-three South Division series will be settled in Game 3 on Friday night at Wolff Stadium.

The winner of the series will play the winner of the North Division playoffs in another best-of-three series beginning Sunday to decide the 2023 Texas League champions.

Late homers by Graham Pauley, Nathan Martorella carry Missions past Cardinals

Graham Pauley hits a home run in the eighth inning to give the Missions a 6-5 lead. The San Antonio Missions beat the Springfield Cardinals 7-6 on Saturday, Sept. 16, 2023, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Graham Pauley hits a home run in the eighth inning to give the Missions a 6-5 lead.
The San Antonio Missions hit back-to-back home runs in the eighth inning to escape with a 7-6 victory over the Springfield Cardinals on Saturday at Wolff Stadium.

Graham Pauley’s third hit of the night was a solo home run that put the Missions in front 6-5 in the bottom of the eighth. Nathan Martorella followed with another homer, giving the Missions a 7-5 lead and an insurance run they would need.

The Cardinals scored a run in the ninth to make it closer.

The Missions scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to take a 5-4 lead. Springfield bounced back with a run in the top of the eighth to tie it 5-5.

The Missions’ seventh-inning rally included a two-run homer by Michael De La Cruz and an RBI sacrifice bunt by Ripken Reyes that scored Cole Cummings.

San Antonio starting pitcher Jairo Iriarte didn’t get a decision but had a solid outing. He went five innings and allowed three runs, three hits, two walks and struck out nine batters.

Jason Blanchard pitched two innings in relief, Lake Bachar worked the eighth inning and got the win and Efrain Contreras handled the ninth inning to pick up his fourth save.

Nathan Martorella celebrates his eighth-inning home run that gave the Missions a 7-5 lead. The San Antonio Missions beat the Springfield Cardinals 7-6 on Saturday, Sept. 16, 2023, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Nathan Martorella celebrates his eighth-inning home run that gave the Missions a 7-5 lead.

Missions edge Cardinals after manager Luke Montz ejected

Missions starting pitcher Adam Mazur earned the win. The San Antonio Missions beat the Springfield Cardinals 3-2 on Friday, Sept. 15, 2023, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Missions starting pitcher Adam Mazur earned the win.
San Antonio starting pitcher Adam Mazur went five innings and gave up only one unearned run as the Missions beat the Springfield Cardinals 3-2 on Friday night at Wolff Stadium.

Mazur (2-3) allowed five hits with one walk and four strikeouts.

Daniel Camarena pitched the ninth inning to earn his third save.

Missions manager Luke Montz was ejected while arguing a call in the top of the third inning.

Ripken Reyes, Nathan Martorella and Michael De La Cruz all had RBI hits for the Missions. Connor Hollis had two hits and scored twice and Graham Pauley had two hits and scored a run.

Missions manager Luke Montz was tossed in the third inning. The San Antonio Missions beat the Springfield Cardinals 3-2 on Friday, Sept. 15, 2023, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Missions manager Luke Montz was tossed in the third inning.

Graham Pauley, Cole Cummings homer in Missions’ win over Cardinals

Missions starter Robby Snelling pitched five innings and got the win. The San Antonio Missions beat the Springfield Cardinals 4-3 on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Missions starter Robby Snelling pitched five innings and got the win.
Graham Pauley hit his second home run since joining the San Antonio Missions and Cole Cummings hit his 11th.

The two long balls on a rare night when the wind was blowing out of Wolff Stadium helped carry the Missions to a 4-3 victory over the Springfield Cardinals on Tuesday.

Pauley’s solo shot in the first inning put the Missions in front 1-0. San Antonio scored twice in the fourth inning to go up 3-1. Cummings’ solo homer in the sixth extended the lead to 4-1.

Missions starting pitcher Robby Snelling (2-0) got the win. The 19-year-old left-hander went five innings and allowed one run on five hits with no walks and three strikeouts.

Daniel Camarena earned his second save of the season by retiring all three batters he faced in the ninth inning.

Homer Bush Jr., playing in his first game at Wolff Stadium since joining the Missions, had two hits and an RBI.

Graham Pauley hit a first-inning home run. The San Antonio Missions beat the Springfield Cardinals 4-3 on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Graham Pauley hit a first-inning home run

Cole Cummings hit his 11th home run of the season. The San Antonio Missions beat the Springfield Cardinals 4-3 on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Cole Cummings hit his 11th home run of the season.

Graham Pauley’s walk-off hit gives Missions a 10-inning win over Sod Poodles

Graham Pauley (top left) celebrates with his teammates after he hit a walk-off single in the bottom of the 10th inning to drive in Ripken Reyes with the winning run in the San Antonio Missions' 6-5 victory over the Amarillo Sod Poodles on Saturday, Aug. 26, 2023, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Graham Pauley (top left) celebrates with his teammates after he hit a walk-off single in the bottom of the 10th inning.
For the second time in five days the San Antonio Missions got a walk-off hit from one of their newest players.

Saturday night it was Graham Pauley, who was promoted to the Missions from Class A Fort Wayne on Tuesday.

The 22-year-old left-handed hitter went to the plate in the bottom of the 10th inning with the score tied 5-5 and Ripken Reyes on second base. Pauley hit a single to center to bring in Reyes and end the game, 6-5.

On Tuesday night it was 17-year-old Ethan Salas who had the game-winning hit in his Double-A debut. Pauley and Salas were teammates in Fort Wayne before they moved up to San Antonio on the same day.

Graham Pauley hit a walk-off single in the bottom of the 10th inning to drive in Ripken Reyes with the winning run in the San Antonio Missions' 6-5 victory over the Amarillo Sod Poodles on Saturday, Aug. 26, 2023, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Graham Pauley hit a walk-off single in the bottom of the 10th inning.
Ripken Reyes heads home with the winning run on a walk-off single by Graham Pauley (top right) in the 10th inning of the San Antonio Missions' 6-5 victory over the Amarillo Sod Poodles on Saturday, Aug. 26, 2023, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander.
Ripken Reyes heads home with the winning run on a walk-off single by Graham Pauley (top right) in the 10th inning.

Sod Poodles beat Missions in pitcher’s duel; Ryan Bergert throws 6 shutout innings in loss

Missions starter Ryan Bergert struck out nine batters while holding the Sod Poodles scoreless for six innings. The San Antonio Missions lost to the Amarillo Sod Poodles 1-0 on Friday, Aug. 25, 2023, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Missions starter Ryan Bergert struck out nine batters while holding the Sod Poodles scoreless for six innings.
The San Antonio Missions were limited to just one hit on Friday in a 1-0 loss to the Amarillo Sod Poodles at Wolff Stadium.

Amarillo’s Camden Duzenack scored the only run of the game on a two-out error in the top of the eighth inning.

Jakob Marsee had the Missions’ only hit.

Missions starting pitcher Ryan Bergert had a strong game, pitching six shutout innings and allowing three hits and two walks with nine strikeouts.

Sod Poodles hold off Missions

The Missions' Graham Pauley had two hits and scored a run. The Amarillo Sod Poodles beat the San Antonio Missions 4-2 on Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
The Missions’ Graham Pauley had two hits and scored a run.
Amarillo pitchers stifled the San Antonio Missions over the first seven innings in the Sod Poodles’ 4-2 victory on Thursday at Wolff Stadium.

Sod Poodles starter Luke Albright (8-5) went five shutout innings to earn the win.

The Missions scored both their runs in the bottom of the eighth after the Sod Poodles built a 4-0 lead. Marcos Castanon scored from third on a ground out and Cole Cummings singled to right to drive in Graham Pauley.

Pauley and Cummings led the Missions with two hits each.

Missions starting pitcher Adam Mazur (0-2) went six innings, allowed three runs and took the loss.

Cole Cummings had the Missions' only RBI of the night. The Amarillo Sod Poodles beat the San Antonio Missions 4-2 on Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Cole Cummings had the Missions’ only RBI of the night.
Missions starter Adam Mazur pitched six innings and allowed three runs. The Amarillo Sod Poodles beat the San Antonio Missions 4-2 on Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Missions starter Adam Mazur pitched six innings and allowed three runs.

Cole Cummings homer powers Missions’ win; Robby Snelling makes Double-A debut

Cole Cummings hit his sixth home run of the season. The San Antonio Missions beat the Amarillo Sod Poodles 4-2 on Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2023, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Cole Cummings hit his sixth home run of the season.
The San Antonio Missions scored half their runs on a home run by Cole Cummings as they beat the Amarillo Sod Poodles 4-2 on Wednesday at Wolff Stadium.

Cummings’ sixth homer of the season produced the Missions’ first two runs of the game and put them in front 2-1 in the bottom of the fifth.

Amarillo tied it 2-2 in the top of the sixth. San Antonio’s Marcos Castanon scored on a wild pitch in the bottom of the inning to make it 3-2 and put the Missions in front for good.

Nathan Martorella doubled in the eighth inning to drive in Castanon and extend the Missions’ lead to 4-2. For Martorella, who made his Missions debut on Tuesday, it was his fourth hit in two days in Double-A.

Robby Snelling, who also joined the Missions a day earlier, started Wednesday’s game on the mound and went 3 2/3 innings in his Double-A debut. He allowed one run, two hits and five walks with two strikeouts.

Bobby Milacki (4-3) pitched the next 3 1/3 innings in relief and earned the win. He allowed one run, one hit, no walks and had four strikeouts.

Daniel Camarena went 1 1/3 innings with no runs, two hits, no walks and one strikeout.

Efrain Contreras, who has started 17 games this season, pitched the final two outs and struck out both batters he faced for his third save.

Marcos Castanon scored on a wild pitch in the sixth inning to put the Missions in front for good. The San Antonio Missions beat the Amarillo Sod Poodles 4-2 on Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2023, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Marcos Castanon scored on a wild pitch in the sixth inning to put the Missions in front for good.
Nathan Martorella's RBI double was in fourth hit in two games since joining the Missions. The San Antonio Missions beat the Amarillo Sod Poodles 4-2 on Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2023, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Nathan Martorella’s RBI double was in fourth hit in two games since joining the Missions.
Missions starting pitcher Robbie Snelling made his Double-A debut. The San Antonio Missions beat the Amarillo Sod Poodles 4-2 on Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2023, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Missions starting pitcher Robbie Snelling made his Double-A debut.

Padres prospects a hit in Missions debuts after Ethan Salas’ walk-off double

San Diego Padres prospect and new San Antonio Missions catcher Ethan Salas ended Tuesday's game with a walk-off double in the 10th inning. The Missions beat the Amarillo Sod Poodles 8-7 on Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2023, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
San Diego Padres prospect and new San Antonio Missions catcher Ethan Salas ended Tuesday’s game with a walk-off double in the 10th inning.

The No. 1 prospect in the San Diego Padres organization had a memorable conclusion to his first game in Double-A ball.

Ethan Salas had a walk-off double to deep right-center field in the 10th inning.

The 17-year-old catcher drove in Connor Hollis with the winning run in the San Antonio Missions’ 8-7 victory over the Amarillo Sod Poodles on Tuesday at Wolff Stadium.

Salas was one of four players in the Missions’ lineup for the first time after being promoted from the Class A Fort Wayne TinCaps.

Jakob Marsee, Graham Pauley, Nathan Martorella and Salas all saw their first action at Wolff Stadium on Tuesday and all recorded their first Double-A hits.

– Martorella played first base and had three hits and three RBIs. After producing an RBI single in the 10th inning that tied the game 7-7, he was replaced by Hollis as the pinch-runner who scored the game-ending run.

– Marsee played center field and batted in the leadoff spot and had a hit, a walk and scored twice.

– Pauley played left field and had a hit, an RBI and scored a run.

Marcos Castanon, a relative veteran with the Missions after being promoted from Fort Wayne on July 14, had three hits including a double and an RBI and scored a run.

Missions reliever Lake Bachar (4-0) pitched the final two innings to earn the win.

Jakob Marsee's first hit with the Missions. The Missions beat the Amarillo Sod Poodles 8-7 on Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2023, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Jakob Marsee’s first hit with the Missions.
Graham Pauley's first hit with the Missions. The Missions beat the Amarillo Sod Poodles 8-7 on Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2023, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Graham Pauley’s first hit with the Missions.
Nathan Martorella's first hit with the Missions. The Missions beat the Amarillo Sod Poodles 8-7 on Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2023, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Nathan Martorella’s first hit with the Missions.