WICHITA, Kan. (June 7, 2026) — The San Antonio Missions (25-32) finished a dominant week in the Sunflower State with a 7-4 win on Sunday over the Wichita Turbo Tubs (22-33). San Antonio took five of six from Wichita, their first time winning five games in a series since doing so last July 8-13, also in Wichita. The Missions are now 21-9 all-time at Equity Bank Park.
Luis Verdugo homered and drove in two, pacing the Missions’ 12-hit attack. On the mound, Omar Cruz earned the win, and Josh Mallitz clinched the save with two scoreless frames.
For the first time all week, Wichita scored first when Jorel Ortega singled home Maddux Houghton in the second inning. That 1-0 lead didn’t last long.
In the fourth, Verdugo crushed a two-run homer to straightway center field against Turbo Tubs starter Cory Lewis, catapulting the Missions ahead 2-1. That lead expanded in the fifth against reliever Sam Ryan as the rain began to pour in Wichita, making a real impact on the field of play. Three straight singles by Kai Roberts, Carson Tucker and Ethan Salas made it 3-1 as Salas’s hit drove in a run. A wild pitch then brought home Tucker before an Albert Fabian groundout scored Salas, so the Missions led 5-1.
As the game went to the bottom of the fifth, rain continued to be an issue. Missions starter Ian Koenig had a pair of pitches clearly slip out of his fingers on a lead-off walk before Billy Amick clobbered a two-run blast that cut the Missions’ lead in half to 5-3. This forced Koenig out of the game after he walked a career-high five batters. Cruz took over for San Antonio, and his three quick outs sent the game to the sixth.
A ton of work was done on the infield before the sixth began to dry things after the hefty rainfall. Nick Mikolajchak became the new pitcher for Wichita, and he walked Verdugo to begin the frame. Verdugo advanced on a wild pitch, allowing him to score as Kai Murphy roped the 12th pitch he saw—after eight straight foul balls—into right field for an RBI single. The insurance run made it 6-3 San Antonio.
Cruz struck out two in the sixth, but Ortega snuck in a homer as well, a solo shot that brought Wichita within two. After that, both bullpens calmed the game down through scoreless seventh and eighth innings. The Missions added a run for some more cushion in the ninth as Fabian brought home Salas with a sacrifice fly, so San Antonio took a 7-4 lead into the ninth.
Mallitz secured the win in the ninth with a 1-2-3 inning. He struck out four and allowed just one hit across two clean innings.
Up Next:
The Missions have an off-day Monday as they head home to begin a six-game homestand against the Frisco RoughRiders. First pitch on Tuesday is at 7:05 p.m in San Antonio. It is AARP $2 Tuesday, so fans can get $2 bullpen/outfield reserved tickets, $2 hot dogs, $2 American draft beer and $2 Sofia’s pizza slices. 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.