SAN ANTONIO (Sept. 3, 2026) — Midland RockHounds (29-31) starter Steven Echavarria and the RockHounds bullpen kept the San Antonio Missions (26-34) scoreless Thursday night in their 3-0 loss as four Midland pitchers combined for 12 K’s.
Midland struck first in the contest as Euribiel Angeles reached third base after a fielding error from Missions left fielder Alex McCoy. A wild pitch from San Antonio starter Abraham Parra bought Angeles enough time to run across the plate to put the RockHounds in the lead before the end of the opening frame.
Echavarria dished out a 1-2-3 first inning and struck out seven Missions across 5.2 innings. Although allowing five hits, Echavarria kept the Missions scoreless in his performance and danced through the third frame after allowing consecutive two out singles to Braedon Karapthios and McCoy. The base hits put the runners at the corners, but Echavarria escaped with a strikeout.
Aside from the unearned run in the opening stanza, Parra remained confident at the mound. The 20-year-old punched out four RockHounds. Parra retired the side in the fourth inning and kept Midland hitless until the fifth inning. After Parra surrendered another walk, CJ Rodriguez and Clark Elliott combined for back-to-back singles to add onto their lead. Jared Sprague-Lott knocked in another hit to load the bases against Parra and Angeles grounded out to score another RockHound to pad their lead 3-0.
Francis Peña took over the mound in the sixth stanza but was greeted with consecutive knocks from a relentless Midland offense. Peña got some help from Missions catcher Oswaldo Linares as the Venezuelan fired off two throws to second base to catch Midland baserunners stealing to keep their lead from growing. Peña managed to close out the inning with a groundout and retired the side in the seventh stanza.
Bullpens jostled for an advantage as Midland reliever A.J. Causey continued to keep the Missions scoreless sitting down the bottom of the order for the Missions in the bottom of the seventh. However, Harry Gustin did the same in the top of the eighth with a groundout, a pickoff and a strikeout.
Karpathios drew a walk to first base to lead off the eighth frame and Romeo Sanabria sent a line drive to center field to put himself and Karpathios at the corners with two away, but Midland’s Jay Dill shutout the Missions hopes of any comeback with a strikeout. Blaze Pontes took over for Dill in ninth to force Justin DeCriscio into a double play after a single and sealed the deal for the RockHounds with a final strikeout in their 3-0 win over the Missions.
Up Next:
Join us for a special Friday night edition of the Flying Chanclas! That's right, the Missions will take the field as the Flying Chanclas de San Antonio for the final regular-season Friday game of 2026! Complete the set! The first 1,500 fans will receive a limited-edition David Robinson bobblehead, the second piece in our connecting bobblehead series with Manu Ginobili. The fun continues after the final out! Kids are invited onto the field to run the bases following the game. 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 more than 120 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.