Daniel Baptista and the middle of the order fueled a 10-5 win over the Diamonds on Sunday afternoon. Baptista finished 3 for 6 with 3 driven in on the afternoon.
James Toy III/Sonoma Stompers
Geoff Safford, Media Relations Assistant
Sunday day games many times have a little different feel than games that take place during the week. Batting practice usually does not take place, and usual starters are sometimes given a day off. But the first four innings of the game Sunday was full of strange events and bad luck for the Stompers. Thankfully for Sonoma, order was restored in the Stompers universe in the fifth.
The Stompers had their eyes set on their fourth straight win on the road in Pittsburg and were facing 52-year-old Jose Canseco on the mound. The Stompers did not have many issues getting base runners aboard against Canseco, but three double plays kept the Stompers offense at bay. However, in the fifth inning, the entire feeling of the game changed and the Stompers exploded for six runs, as the Diamonds made two errors in the inning to aid the rally. Sonoma added three more runs in the sixth and cruised to a 10-5 win over the Diamonds to make it four in a row in Pittsburg.
Daniel Baptista, Joel Carranza, and Randy Santiesteban in the middle of the order fueled the fire for the Stompers offense, as the trio finished 9 for 15 with six driven in combined. Carranza finished 11 for 20 over the four games in Pittsburg. Daniel Baptista has been on fire in his last 11 games accumulating multiple hits in six of those contests. Baptista finished Sunday’s game 3 for 6 with three driven in.
Oliver Garcia struggled with control in Sunday’s start and walked seven batters in only 3 1/3 innings pitched. That meant it was up to the bullpen to finish the game and they were up to the task. Ryan Richardson and Erik Gonsalves pitched 4 2/3 scoreless innings out of the pen to keep the Stompers comfortably out in front. Pittsburg scored in two of the first three innings but did not score again until the ninth inning with the game well out of reach.
Sonoma (34-26, 11-10 second half) closed a successful week Sunday and took five games out of six this week against the Diamonds (26-34, 7-14 second half). The Diamonds have been heading in the wrong direction over the past two weeks and have dropped 11 of their last 12 games overall. The success by the Stompers sets up a pivotal series against the San Rafael Pacifics (35-25, 14-7 second half) at People’s Home Equity Ballpark at Arnold Field. Sonoma trails the Pacifics by three games in the second half and only one game in overall record.
Tickets for all six games of the Stompers home stand at People's Home Equity Ballpark at Arnold Field next week are available on stompersbaseball.com. Stompers gear, and tickets are also available for purchase inside The Fan Shop located at 234 West Napa Street in downtown Sonoma. For more information about the team, contact the Stompers at info@stompersbaseball.com.