TULSA, Okla. (May 3, 2026) — A 7-1 lead for the San Antonio Missions (7-20) vanished in the seventh inning when the Tulsa Drillers (18-9) tied it, but Tirso Ornelas’s RBI double in the eighth put San Antonio back up and they held on for the 8-7 win in the Sunday matinee. Johan Moreno sparkled out of the bullpen, throwing 2.1 scoreless and earning the win as he recorded the final seven outs of the game.
Ornelas initially gave San Antonio the lead with a solo homer in the second inning against Drillers starter Adam Serwinowski. Braedon Karpathios then became involved in the next two runs, scoring on a wild pitch and driving in one on a single, giving San Antonio a 3-0 lead in the third.
Eric Yost looked sharp from the start on the mound for the Missions. He set down the first six Drillers he saw and did not allow a hit across four innings with seven strikeouts. He strangely did allow a run without a hit in the third inning as he walked three and hit a batter, but he limited the damage and held Tulsa to just the one tally.
Serwinowski left the game ahead of the fourth, and the Missions gladly welcomed Joel Ibarra back to the mound. Ibarra, who failed to record an out on Tuesday, only got one today and gave up a big blast to Leandro Cedeño. The righty cranked a three-run homer to left, his third of the week to put San Antonio up 6-1.
A bases loaded walk made it 7-1 Missions in the sixth, and Tulsa still didn’t have a hit. Omar Cruz threw a perfect fifth inning out of the bullpen, but the Drillers’ offense woke up in the sixth. Kyle Nevin’s solo homer gave Tulsa their first hit and second run, and Elijah Hainline followed shortly with a homer himself off Cruz that cut San Antonio’s lead to 7-3.
Francis Peña took over in the sixth, and he struggled without getting an out. He walked two and hit Sean McLain with the bases loaded, forcing San Antonio to turn to Harry Gustin with the lead down to three. Gustin induced Kendall George into a ground out, so San Antonio led 7-4 headed to the seventh inning.
A 1-2-3 top of the seventh brought Tulsa right back to the plate against Gustin. Three straight singles from Josue De Paula, Nevin and Zyhir Hope trimmed San Antonio’s lead to 7-5 before a tough play at first allowed Tulsa to tie the game. Romeo Sanabria booted a ground ball by Chris Newell, and his flip to first in an effort to recover went wild, helping Tulsa even the game at seven.
Gustin bounced back to strike out a pair while Tulsa continued to threaten, and then Moreno entered with two in scoring position and two away. Moreno punched out McLain, keeping the game tied towards the eighth.
The Missions answered immediately. Sanabria singled with two away and no one on, and Chris Tremie inserted Kai Roberts as a pinch runner. That paid off when Ornelas smoked the ball up the right-center field gap, allowing Roberts to score from first to give San Antonio the lead right back.
Moreno went on to take care of business. He struck out two in a clean eighth, and he stranded a two-out walk in scoring position in the ninth to earn himself a win and secure San Antonio’s wild 8-7 win. For the Missions, this concludes their 2026 trips up to Oklahoma, and they will no longer face the Drillers during the regular season, finishing 3-6 against them this year.
Up Next:
The Missions head home and have on off day Monday before beginning a two-week homestand on Tuesday at 6:05 p.m against the Midland RockHounds. Starters have yet to be announced. It is Cinco de Mayo and $2 AARP Tuesday, so there will be a party at The Wolff as the Missions play as the Flying Chanclas against the Midland Amigos. 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.
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.