By Stompers Staff
The Sonoma Stompers’ all stars led the way as they defeated the Walnut Creek Crawdads, 5-4 after a ninth inning surge. All star selections Alijah Ramos, Trent Abel and Dylan Goff all had huge nights for Sonoma, with Ramos and Abel combining for six hits and Goff with an impressive ninth to earn the save. Omar Gastelum also had the huge double to win it for the Stomps in the late innings.
Sonoma got the scoring started in the third inning, which began with a Joseph Cardinale single. After Justice Brinson moved him over to second, Ramos stepped up and slapped a double to score Cardinale. With Ramos on second, Abel then doubled, which scored Ramos and gave the Stompers a 2-0 lead. The Crawdads surged in the fifth inning to tie the game however. But, Ramos singled again in the sixth and worked his way around the bases to score via a Paul Contreras sacrifice fly.
The one run lead would not last long as Walnut Creek scored in the seventh to tie it and then added another in the eighth to take the lead. The Stomps weren’t finished though, as Cardinale and Jack Lazark got on base via Crawdad errors with one out in the ninth inning. Gastelum then stepped up and smacked a double that allowed both Cardinale and Lazark to score, which gave Sonoma the 5-4 lead. Goff then delivered in the bottom half of the inning, where he forced two fly outs and struck out one to silence the Crawdads and secure the win.
Ramos had a monster day, going 4 for 5 with an RBI. Abel added two hits and another RBI. As mentioned, Gastelum and Cardinale had a hit each as well. Max Handron contributed the ninth hit for the Stompers, with a sixth inning single. On the bump, Patrick Atkinson got the start and pitched a respectable 4 and ⅓ innings, where he gave up two earned on three hits. Connor Kinney relieved the next 2 and ⅓ innings, holding the Crawdads to only one run, striking out three in the process. Avery Thau got the win, where he pitched the next 1 and ⅓ innings and gave up only one.
The win did not affect Sonoma’s placement in the standings but since the San Luis Obispo Blues won again, it was much needed for the Stomps. It also moves Walnut Creek closer to Sonoma in the standings, as the Stompers sit 4.5 games back now. The Stomps will begin the last week of games on Tuesday with an away matchup against the San Francisco Seagulls in San Bruno. The live radio broadcast will be up so make sure to tune in at 6:05! That can be found at the following link: https://sonoma-stompers.mixlr.com/.