Sod Poodles Hand Missions Heartbreaking Walk-off Loss

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TL San Antonio Missions

Sod Poodles Hand Missions Heartbreaking Walk-off Loss

June 14, 2025 - Texas League (TL)
San Antonio Missions News Release


AMARILLO, Texas - Jesus Valdez, who went 4-4, scored the winning run for the Amarillo Sod Poodles (27-35) in the bottom of the ninth after an errant throw from third baseman Wyatt Hoffman gave the San Antonio Missions (34-28) a crushing 5-4 loss.

A 3-0 lead in the seventh inning vanished for the Missions as the Sod Poodles spoiled six scoreless innings from San Antonio starter Henry Baez. Jared Kollar, dealt a tough hand having to enter suddenly after Andrew Moore threw just one pitch before getting hurt, stomached the loss. Gerardo Gutierrez earned the win for Amarillo after his two solid innings of relief.

Coming off back-to-back double-digit scoring efforts, San Antonio's offense went back to work right away against Amarillo starter Cesar Gomez. Romeo Sanabria brought in Devin Ortiz on a groundout before Anthony Vilar singled home Brandon Valenzuela in the first, so the Missions led 2-0 before fans could even settle into their seats.

Baez utilized those early runs to begin his stellar evening. He scattered five hits across six scoreless innings. Baez didn't walk anyone, and he struck out three. Double plays helped him avoid issues in the second and fifth frames, as nine of the righty's outs came on the ground.

Gomez found a groove after the first as well, finishing four innings with only those two first-inning runs allowed. He gave way to Luke Albright, who set down six of the first seven Missions he faced to keep the game 2-0 into the seventh inning.

Out for his third inning of work, Albright walked Ripken Reyes to start the seventh. Reyes stole second and hustled to third on an errant throw down to second by catcher Christian Cerda. The extra 90 feet proved to be huge, as Reyes then scampered home on an Albright wild pitch with two outs. This kicked Albright out of the game, and Philip Abner ended the inning, but San Antonio's lead grew to 3-0.

Things were going according to plan for San Antonio until the home half of the seventh. Andrew Moore replaced Baez, and Gavin Conticello scorched the very first pitch Moore delivered 105 mph directly off the pitcher. Moore signaled for an immediate exit, forcing San Antonio to dive into their bullpen after just one pitch from Moore.

Jared Kollar answered the unexpected call and got ready for his first appearance in a San Antonio uniform this season after starting the year at Triple-A El Paso. The Sod Poodles greeted him rudely by loading the bases for Jesus Valdez. He looped a ball barely fair towards right field to score a pair. Kevin Graham pounced on the very next Kollar offering, doubling home two more to give Amarillo a 4-3 lead.

Suddenly down, San Antonio's offense reached deep into their bag of tricks with Gerardo Gutierrez newly on the mound. First, they had to start a rally, which Marcos Castañon did with an infield single, and he advanced to second thanks to a bad throw from shortstop Jose Fernandez. Wyatt Hoffman pinch ran for Castañon, and Hoffman advanced to third on Kai Murphy's single. With the corners covered and one out, Hoffman took off on the pitch towards the plate and Reyes put down the perfect suicide squeeze bunt to even the game at 4-4.

Gutierrez recorded the final out to bring his bats to the plate in the eighth, but Kollar swiftly stranded a walk to send the game into the ninth. Gutierrez remained and threw a 1-2-3 ninth, setting up the dramatic finish.

With Kollar still on the mound, Valdez knocked his fourth hit of the game into left field with one out. Kollar crept towards extra innings, inducing a weak ground ball to third. Hoffman, in at third after pinch running, buried his throw to first. Ortiz couldn't corral it, and it skipped far enough away to let Valdez score the winning run all the way from first as the Sod Poodles walked it off.

UP NEXT:

The Missions wrap up their six-game series in Amarillo with a 6:05 p.m first pitch on Sunday. Lefty Jagger Haynes (3-2, 3.83) starts for San Antonio while Amarillo's starter is now TBD. 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. Fans can also visit the box office at Wolff Stadium on gamedays.

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Texas League Stories from June 14, 2025


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