Castañon Walks-off Naturals in Friday Night Thriller

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Castañon Walks-off Naturals in Friday Night Thriller

April 18, 2025 - Texas League (TL)
San Antonio Missions News Release


SAN ANTONIO, - With two outs in the tenth inning and the bases loaded, Marcos Castañon dribbled a ball to third and barely beat out the throw to send 5,877 fans at Wolff Stadium into a frenzy. The walk-off infield single gave the San Antonio Missions an electric 4-3 win over the Northwest Arkansas Naturals in extra innings.

Josè Espada, who locked down the Naturals in the tenth, took home the win. That is now a 7-1 record for the impressive Missions bullpen, who have played a massive role in the overall 9-4 record for San Antonio.

Peyton Wilson wasted no time getting the Naturals on the board, leading the game off with a home run against Missions starter Braden Nett. After two more singles in the frame, Nett had to labor through trouble, but he managed to escape with just the one run allowed.

San Antonio responded quickly in the second when Devin Ortiz came across on a passed ball to tie the game. From then on, both sides mostly locked down on the mound. Nett allowed only one more hit after the first and completed four innings of one-run ball.

Naturals starter Ben Kudrna also allowed just one run through five frames, but he ran into trouble in the sixth. Back-to-back singles by Kai Murphy and Brandon Valenzuela knocked Kudrna out of the game in favor of Chazz Martinez. A Moisès Gòmez walk loaded the bases for Ortiz, who punched a single into left field that brought home a pair and put the Missions up 3-1 headed into the seventh.

A clean Carter Loewen inning took the game with that 3-1 score into the eighth, when the Naturals brewed trouble against reliever Ryan Och. Och exited and was replaced by Bradgley Rodriguez, who gave up a game-tying two-run double off the bat of Jordan Groshans, but the runs were charged to Och.

The game would stay tied and head into extra innings. Espada spun out of trouble in the top half of the tenth, stranding the ghost runner on base. This allowed the Missions to mount a rally in the bottom half.

San Antonio loaded the bases with nobody out, but Gòmez struck out and Ortiz grounded to short, where Jack Pineda made an unbelievable stop to throw out the potential winning run at home. With two outs, Castañon chopped a ball just slowly enough to third to beat out the throw and win the ballgame for the Missions.

UP NEXT:

The Missions continue their six-game home series against the Northwest Arkansas Naturals on Saturday night at Wolff Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. Jackson Wolf (2-0, 2.00) goes for the Missions while Henry Williams (2-0, 2.45) starts for the Naturals. After the game, fans will enjoy fireworks at The Wolff. Catch all the action on Country Legends KKYX, 680 AM, 104.9 FM and kkyx.com.

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