Randy Santiesteban hit his second home run of the season in a 13-4 win Tuesday over the Pacifics. Santiesteban finished 2 for 5 with 3 RBIs in the game.
James Toy III/Sonoma Stompers
Geoff Safford, Media Relations Assistant
Getting off to a good start is so important in a baseball game. The San Rafael Pacifics and Sonoma Stompers were battling for positioning Tuesday atop the Pacific Association and every game played between them has an elevated intensity. The Stompers wanted to start fast, and did so by scoring their first two runs of the game in clutch two out at-bats. The offense built on the momentum in the early innings with two rallies in the middle innings en route to a 13-4 win over the Pacifics. Sonoma has now won five games in a row and trails San Rafael by only two games in the second half standings in the Pacific Association.
The largest inning offensively came in the sixth when six runs came home. The inning saw 11 batters come to the plate with the first seven reaching base. Daniel Baptista singled home the first run in the inning to cap another big night at the plate for the first baseman. Baptista finished 3 for 4 with three RBIs. Baptista has had multiple hits in five of his last six games.
Randy Santiesteban highlighted the four run rally in the fifth with a three run homer to left field that blew the game open. The Stomper shortstop finished the game 2 for 5 with three driven in. Sonoma had 14 hits as team, as every Stompers starter finished with at least one hit in the game. The 13 runs scored were the second most runs the Pacifics had allowed all season.
Gregory Paulino was solid in six innings allowing only two earned runs to pick up his fourth win of the season (4-4). He did well in the early parts of the game to preserve the Stompers early advantage to keep the momentum in their dugout. The defense behind Paulino was also outstanding. Santiesteban made one of the biggest plays in the early part of the game on a diving stop on a line drive by Zack Pace in the third. If the ball had made it through the infield, it would have tied the game.
The Stompers (35-26, 12-10 second half) would trail by only one game in the second half standings in the Pacific Association with a win Wednesday against the Pacifics (35-26, 14-8 second half.) The Stompers will turn to one of their best starters in Mike Jackson Jr. (7-2 2.95 ERA), who is 4-0 in his last four starts including one win against the Pacifics. The offense that has scored double digits in its last two games will also be key if the Stompers want to make it six wins in a row.
Tickets for upcoming Stompers games are available on stompersbaseball.com. Fan gear, and tickets are also available 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.