TL1 San Antonio Missions

Missions Sixth Straight Win Pulls Them into First-Place Tie

Published on June 15, 2009 under Texas League (TL1)
San Antonio Missions News Release


In a game that moves at the pace that baseball does, it's amazing how quickly an entire season can change. The Missions' 2009 campaign has undergone such a transformation over the last week. With their 11-5 victory over Corpus Christi on Sunday, San Antonio ran its win streak to six in a row and pulled even with Midland atop the Texas League South.

Entering their eight-game homestand on Wednesday, the Missions sat at an even 28-28, five games back of the front-running RockHounds with only 14 games remaining in the first half of the season. But Midland dropped four straight at Corpus Christi while the Missions swept Frisco, closing the gap to one going into today's game.

Amazingly, the Missions have put their run together without the benefit of the home run. They have not gone deep in a season-high eight straight contests, but have gone 7-1 over that stretch.

Of course, one of the great challenges of playing in San Antonio is learning to win without hitting home runs. The Missions have found a way to do just that, scoring a season-high 11 runs on the power of 15 hits, one shy of their season best.

"You can't be macho in this ballpark," said Missions manager Terry Kennedy of his power-sapping home field. "We don't rely on the home run. Our hitting philosophy has a lot to do with our success. We think line drive and below."

That approach has served their hitters well, particularly Lance Zawadzki. The Missions infielder hit 10 homers in 36 games in Single-A this year before his promotion, but has adapted well to his new environment. He has not homered yet with San Antonio, but has driven six of his first 13 hits with the Missions for doubles.

"I've been working with Orv (Franchuk, Missions hitting coach) to not try to do too much with the ball," said Zawadzki. He finished Sunday's game 2-for-5 with a double and a game-high three RBI.

The game was actually much closer than the final score would indicate, as there were two ties and two lead changes before the final outburst by the home side. The Missions lead by just one entering the bottom of the eighth, but sent 10 men to the plate and plated five to put the game on ice.

After San Antonio opened the scoring with two in the third, the Hooks came back with three runs of their own in the top of the fourth to take a 3-2 lead. Felix Molina doubled home a pair with the bases loaded to open the scoring, snapping the Missions scoreless streak at 27.1 innings. The staff had held the opposition off the board since the fourth inning of Thursday night's win over Frisco and had followed with consecutive 4-0 shutouts Friday and Saturday.

The Missions got a single run in the fifth and two in the sixth to take a 5-3 lead before Corpus Christi tied the game again in the top of the seventh at 5-5.

Reliever Brandon Gomes (4-0) got the win while throwing just two pitches. He entered the game with Hooks shortstop Wladimir Sutil at third and one out in a tie game in the top of the seventh, facing the Texas League's RBI leader, Drew Locke. On the second pitch, Gomes induced Locke to hit a shallow fly ball to center field, and Cedric Hunter gunned down the tagging Sutil at the plate to end the inning and preserve the tie. The Missions would score in the bottom of the seventh to take the lead for good.

Hunter's outfield assist at the plate marked the second of the afternoon for San Antonio, as Missions right fielder Kellen Kulbacki also hosed Jimmy Van Ostrand who was trying to score from second base on Nick Moresi's single in the second inning. Kulbacki's play kept the game scoreless for the time being.

Five straight Missions in the lineup- Eric Sogard, Craig Cooper, Zawadzki, Kulbacki and Hunter- notched multi-hit games in the win. It was Cooper's 26 th multi-hit performance of the year, and his fourth in the first five games of the homestand.

Missions starter Stephen Faris was hardly dominant, but squeezed out a quality start, yielding three earned on nine hits through 6.0 innings. He also contributed heavily to his own cause at the plate, going 1-for-1 with a walk, a stolen base and two runs scored.

All four Corpus Christi pitchers yielded multiple earned runs, with reliever Danny Meszaros (1-2) taking the loss. Meszaros allowed three earned on five hits in just an inning and a third.

The Missions tied a season high with five steals on the day, coming from five different players. The final two swipes came on a double steal by Kulbacki and Hunter with two outs in the bottom of the seventh. It marked the first five-steal game for the team since the second game of the season, April 10th against Northwest Arkansas, when Luis Durango stole three by himself.

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Texas League Stories from June 15, 2009


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