MIDLAND (JULY 11, 2026) — Trailing for nearly the entire game, the Missions rallied late for a 10-9 victory over the Midland RockHounds thanks to a go-ahead three-run homer for Luis Verdugo in the eighth inning on Saturday night at Momentum Bank Ballpark.
San Antonio trailed by as many as four runs, but continued to respond to every Midland rally.
The Missions took a 1-0 lead in the first on a Jake Cunningham sacrifice fly.
Midland responded with two runs of their own in the first to take a 2-1 lead, thanks to a two-run single by Colby Halter.
After San Antonio evened the game at 2 on a Halter throwing error, Midland took the lead right back on a Brennan Milone RBI groundout.
They then extended their lead to 6-2 in the third. After a Casey Yamauchi bases-loaded walk, Cameron Leary drove in two with an RBI single.
San Antonio was unfazed, however. They continued to chip away at the lead throughout the game. A pair of RBI singles from Chris Sargent Jr. and Carson Tucker in the fourth made it 6-4.
In response, Davis Diaz hit a solo home run for Midland that extended the advantage to 7-4.
Francisco Acuna then notched his second double of the night in the fifth, this time to drive in a run. Acuna now has 14 doubles this season.
A Milone RBI single for the RockHounds in the fifth made it 8-5.
But that was the penultimate run Midland would score in the game, as the Missions made their comeback push.
A two-run sixth inning cut the deficit to 8-7. A throwing error by Yamuachi on a groundball hit by Jake Cunningham allowed Ryan Jackson to score. Karpathios then followed with an RBI single to drive in Cunningham.
In the eighth, Ryan Jackson singled and Braedon Karpathios walked. Luis Verdugo then launched a high, deep drive down the left-field line for a three-run homer, all of a sudden giving the Missions a 10-8 lead. It was Verdugo’s seventh home run of the season.
Midland scored a run on an Acuna error in the eighth inning, but that’s as close as they would get to tying the game. Garrett Hawkins picked up a four-out save, finishing the contest with a scoreless ninth inning and sealing the 10-9 win.
Up Next:
The Missions conclude their series against the Midland Rockhounds at Momentum Bank Ballpark on Sunday. First pitch on Sunday is at 1:00 p.m. Catch all the action on Country Legends KKYX, 680 AM, 104.9 FM and kkyx.com.