Acuña Blasts Homer in Fourth Straight Game, Missions Outlast Sod Poodles in Extra Innings

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TL San Antonio Missions

Acuña Blasts Homer in Fourth Straight Game, Missions Outlast Sod Poodles in Extra Innings

April 24, 2025 - Texas League (TL)
San Antonio Missions News Release


AMARILLO, Texas - A season-high 13 runs on a season-high 17 hits proved to be enough for the San Antonio Missions to end up above the Amarillo Sod Poodles in a topsy-turvy 13-11 win in ten innings. In the tenth inning, Francisco Acuña lifted a three-run homer to right-field, a game-winning shot that made this the fourth straight game with a home run for Acuña.

Eight Missions recorded a hit, and six earned multiple hits. Marcos Castañon plated four runs on three hits while Joshua Mears belted his first two homers of the 2025 season. Five Missions pitchers combined to get the job done, as Manuel Castro picked up the win and Ryan Och secured the save.

The Missions jumped ahead in the first against Amarillo starter Spencer Giesting with three consecutive singles from Acuña, Devin Ortiz and Romeo Sanabria. Then in the second, Mears hit the first of his two homers to give San Antonio a 2-0 lead.

San Antonio starter Braden Nett tossed a clean first, but Andy Weber broke through in the second with a bloop two-RBI single that tied the game. Castañon answered in the third to put the Missions ahead 3-2 with a run-scoring single, but Amarillo responded themselves with a Christian Cerda RBI double. After three innings, the game stood tied at 3-3.

Amarillo leapt in front in the fourth when LuJames Groover drove in a pair with a double and Gavin Conticello brought another home on a groundout, all off of Nett. San Antonio didn't let the game get away, however, grabbing two back in the fifth thanks to a Moisès Gòmez double and Castañon sacrifice fly to make it 6-5 in favor of Amarillo.

Miguel Cienfuegos took over for Nett in the fifth, and he came out ready to fire. He worked around a single to keep it at just a one-run deficit heading to the sixth. That's when Mears towered a game-tying homer down the left-field line, his second of the game.

Cienfuegos set down the Soddies in order in the sixth and got the Missions right back to the plate for the seventh, where they would take the lead. With Logan Clayton on the mound out of the bullpen, the first two men reached ahead of a Castañon RBI double off the wall. Mears followed by nearly belting his third homer, but it was caught by Caleb Roberts at the warning track, yet it was still good enough for another run and an 8-6 Missions lead.

After jumping ahead, San Antonio kept Cienfuegos on the mound. Conticello and Cerda roped back-to-back doubles to quickly make it 8-7. A Roberts single covered the corners with no one out, creating major trouble for Cienfuegos. A visit to the mound from pitching coach Jeff Andrews calmed him down, and Cienfuegos managed to strike out Ivan Melendez before forcing Manuel Peña into a massive inning-ending 4-6-3 double play.

Landon Sims entered for the Sod Poodles in the eighth, and he couldn't hold the Missions down. Acuña doubled and scampered home on an Ortiz single, extending San Antonio's advantage to 9-7.

Eduarniel Nùñez was given the task of holding the lead, but the Sod Poodles prevented him from succeeding. Weber reached on a walk, and with a 3-0 count, Kristian Robinson got the green light necessary to send a two-run blast over the wall. Just like that, the scoreboard read 9-9.

San Antonio turned to Castro, and he escaped the eighth with no further damage. Zane Russell pitched a scoreless ninth for the Sod Poodles, and Castro matched him in the bottom half to send the game into extra innings.

Russell remained on the mound for Amarillo. After a strikeout, a Wyatt Hoffman single placed himself and the ghost runner at the corners with one out in the tenth, setting the stage for Acuña's heroic swing. He crushed a ball to the opposite field and landed it on the Hodgetown berm in right-center field, catapulting the Missions ahead 12-9. Castañon added an important insurance run with a single, so San Antonio led 13-9.

Castro continued to pitch in the tenth, but he met resistance. Robinson doubled home two runs to make it 13-11 and bring the tying-run to the plate. Castro retired Groover, but manager Luke Montz turned to the lefty Och to face the lefty Conticello. That turned out to be a wise decision, as Och got Conticello to fly out and end this wacky game in favor of the Missions.

UP NEXT:

The Missions continue their six-game series in Amarillo on Friday night at 7:05 p.m. Left-hander Jackson Wolf (2-0, 1.29) goes for the Missions while right-hander Roman Angelo (0-2, 11.20) starts for Amarillo. Catch all the action on Country Legends KKYX, 680 AM, 104.9 FM and kkyx.com.

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Texas League Stories from April 24, 2025


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