Oliver Garcia had a season high 10 strikeouts in a 13-1 win over the Diamonds Tuesday. Garcia allowed only one run in five innings pitched to pick up his third win of the season.
James Toy III/Sonoma Stompers
Geoff Safford, Media Relations Assistant
The Stompers scored two runs in their last two games combined in a disappointing end to a series last weekend in San Rafael. Sonoma faced the Diamonds on Tuesday night, a team that had been scuffling coming into the game. The Stompers made sure they would not have a repeat performance from the weekend and got the bats rolling from the very start, scoring three runs in the first and never looking back in a 13-1 rout of the Diamonds.
Oliver Garcia lost in his previous two outings against both against the Pacifics but had some of his best stuff Tuesday night. Garcia retired 10 in a row in a stretch from the first to the fourth and allowed only one earned run in five innings pitched while striking out a season high 10 batters. Bench Coach/Catcher Chris Matthews stressed the importance of Garcia to the Stompers offensive success. “Garcia’s tempo, and command on the mound tonight was sensational. He pitched quickly and got us back in the dugout fast,” Matthews said. “That really helps the momentum of an offense when you can get back in the dugout quickly after a big inning,” said Matthews.
The Stomper offense scored runs in bunches all night. The largest inning came in the seventh when the Stompers exploded for six runs to put the game out of reach. The top of the lineup was sensational as Matt Hibbert, Derrick Fox, and Joel Carranza all finished with two hits each. They went a combined 6 for 12 with five runs scored and six driven in, with three coming on a homer by Joel Carranza in the first inning, his team best 11th of the season.
Mark Hurley had been struggling at the plate recently but found his swing again hitting in the ninth spot, going 2 for 4 with three driven in. Sonoma had 10 hits as a team on top of eight walks and also took advantage of four Diamonds errors on their way to an easy victory.
The Diamonds (25-30, 6-10 second half) will have to find an answer quickly as they have now lost seven straight games. The Stompers (30-25, 7-9 second half) will look to ensure a series victory Wednesday night when they send Gregory Paulino to the mound for the final game of the week at Peoples Home Equity Ballpark at Arnold Field. The Stompers will head to Pittsburg for a four game series beginning Thursday.
Tickets for upcoming Stompers home games are available on StompersBaseball.com. Stompers gear and tickets are also available at The Fan Shop located at 234 West Napa Street in Sonoma. For more information, call 707-938-7277 or email the team at info@StompersBaseball.com.
Box Score