The San Antonio Missions’ rotation faltered late, surrendering a 9-3 loss to the visiting Amarillo Sod Poodles on Thursday night at Nelson W. Wolff Municipal Stadium.

The Missions (41-41) started with the Padres’ No.9 prospect Austin Krob on the mound, yet were unable to overcome a late surge from the Sod Poodles (35-49). 

San Antonio struck first in the bottom of the first inning off the bat of second baseman Michael De La Cruz, who brought in Ripken Reyes and Robbie Tenerowicz with an RBI single into center field. 

Amarillo responded in the top of the second with an RBI single from right fielder Kristian Robinson to cut the Missions’ lead back down to one. 

Over the next four innings, Krob and Sod Poodles’ starting pitcher Billy Corcoran battled it out on the bump, with neither allowing a single run. Figuring out which pitcher would blink first would ultimately decide the game’s victor, and unfortunately for San Antonio, it was Krob. 

In the top of the sixth, infielder Ivan Melendez launched a home run over the left field wall, tying the game at 2-2. 

Krob was promptly removed from the game. 

Seemingly headed for a dramatic finish with the game tied late, Amarillo would pile on seven runs in the final three innings. 

In the seventh, lead-off hitter Andrew Pintar sliced an RBI-double into left field, bringing home J.J. D’Orazio and Robinson, giving Amarillo a 4-2 lead, their first lead of the game. 

With no rebuttal from the Missions in the eighth, the Sod Poodles added their final five runs of the game with an RBI single from second baseman Jancarlos Cintron and a pair of RBI triples from center fielder Tim Tawa and third baseman Jesus Valdez. 

With Amarillo holding a firm 9-2 lead, the Missions would manage just one run from centerfielder Robert Perez Jr., not nearly enough for a comeback. 

Game four of the Missions’ series against the Sod Poodles is set for 7:05 p.m. Friday at Nelson W. Wolff Municipal Stadium.

Rylan Renteria

Rylan is a psychology major in his junior year at UTSA, and is currently a writer for The Paisano. As a major fan of both the Seattle Seahawks and Mariners, Rylan is also very supportive of the San Antonio Spurs and all UTSA Athletics Aside from watching sports, Rylan enjoys watching horror movies, playing video games and playing intramural sports.