The San Antonio Missions took a back-and-forth battle from the 1st-Half North Division Champion Springfield Cardinals, 6-4, before 4,332 fans at Hammons Field on Sunday evening.
The Missions (7-10, 29-58) swung in front right away in the top of the first against RHP J.C. Sulbaran. With one on and two away, RF Nick Schulz drove an RBI double to left-center field, bringing in SS Jose Rondon from second base for the 1-0 San Antonio lead.
San Antonio doubled the lead in the top of the second. LF Luis Tejada started the inning with a double, before Sulbaran battled back with a strikeout. C Rocky Gale, though, delivered an RBI double to center field, scoring Tejada to make it 2-0.
The Missions kept the pressure on with a third run in the top of the third. 2B Nelson Ward was hit by a pitch to open the inning, before stealing his way to second base. A sacrifice bunt from Rondon moved Ward to third, followed by an RBI single from Schulz to score Ward for the 3-0 advantage.
The Cardinals (8-8, 49-37) came racing right back in the bottom of the third against RHP Kyle Lloyd. CF Blake Drake sparked the offense with a double to lead off the inning. A base hit from SS Juan Herrera moved Drake to third and put runners at the corners with no outs. Sulbaran then helped his own cause with a towering, two-run double to center field, scoring both Drake and Herrera and bringing the Cardinals within one run, 3-2.
After a 1-2-3 top of the fourth from Sulbaran, Springfield completed the comeback in the bottom of the fourth. 1B Luke Voit crushed a double off the left field fence to start the stanza in scoring position. Two outs later, Drake came through with an RBI single chopped down the third base line, plating Voit from second to square the score, 3-3.
Sulbaran dug in with scoreless work through his next three frames, keeping the tie intact until the top of the eighth inning. With Sulbaran back on the mound, CF Franchy Cordero led off the frame with a solo shot, lifting the Missions into the 4-3 lead.
The Cardinals, though, battled right back against RHP Adam Cimber (W, 3-2) in the bottom of the eighth. 2B Allen Staton led off with a single, before going to second base one out later on a walk from Voit. With two on and one away, 3B Paul DeJong delivered with an RBI single through the middle, bringing in Staton from second with his team-leading 54th RBI of the year to tie the game, 4-4.
However, San Antonio countered in the top of the ninth to reclaim the advantage once again. LHP Justin Wright (L, 0-2) retired the inning's first batter, before Tejada and 1B Taylor Lindsey collected consecutive singles. RHP Kevin Herget took over and struck out C Rocky Gale right away, but pinch-hitting INF Felipe Blanco drove a two-run double to right field, scoring both runners for the 6-4 lead.
San Antonio RHP Jason Jester (S, 10) took over for the bottom of the ninth and dealt a 1-2-3 final frame to close the 6-4 win for the Missions.
