Caleb Bryson finished 2-for-4 in Sonoma's 5-1 loss.
James Toy III/Sonoma Stompers
Geoff Safford, Media Relations Assistant
The Sonoma Stompers' (6-4) bats fell silent on Friday, as the team fell to the Pittsburg Diamonds (5-5) by a score of 5-1 at City Park Field in Pittsburg on Friday evening. With the win, the Diamonds moved to within one game of the Stompers for first place in the Pacific Association. Game two of the series has now become an important one for both teams in the early parts of this season as they battle for the top spot in the league.
Starting pitcher Corey MacDonald was the star for Pittsburg as he flipped the script from his first start against the Stompers last Friday. The Stompers scored nine runs (three earned) off MacDonald in the second inning before he was knocked out of the game. Tonight, the tall right-hander threw seven complete allowing only four hits and had six strikeouts to pick up his first win of the season (1-1). He did a good job with his location keeping the ball down to prevent the powerful Stomper lineup to get to him.
Stomper’s starter Jose Flores did not have his best stuff and struggled in the 3 1/3 innings that he pitched. The eight walks that he allowed were just too many to pitch around, and forced the Stompers to go to the bullpen early. Austin Delmotte was solid in relief out of the pen, but the Diamonds already had all of the offense they needed with the solid pitching performance.
The Stompers' lone bright spot in the order was Caleb Bryson as he finished 2 for 4 in the game with an RBI. Bryson’s double into deep left center field that scored Sam DiMatteo gave them their only run of the game in the eighth inning.
Saturday night’s game two matchup is set up to be a good one as both club’s aces are scheduled to start. Sean Conroy and Dylan Brammer will go head to head for the second time this season as they faced each other last Sunday. Brammer (2-0) got the best of Sonoma his last time out on his way to a win. Conroy (0-1) will look to get his first win of 2016 to help the Stompers avoid a two-game losing streak. The Stompers have yet to lose two straight games this season. Coverage of the game from City Park Field will be available on StompersBaseball.com and the TuneIn app starting at 5:50. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.
Tickets for upcoming Stomper’s home games are available on stompersbaseball.com. You may also purchase tickets and fan merchandise at The Fan Shop located at 234 West Napa Street in Sonoma. Email us at info@stompersbaseball.com for more information.