Isaac Wenrich and Matt Hibbert celebrates a 5-4 walk-off victory against the Pittsburg Diamonds at People's Home Equity Ballpark on Sunday. (James W. Toy III / Sonoma Stompers)
Sierra Heil / Stompers Baseball
SONOMA, Calif.– The Sonoma Stompers Professional Baseball Club, presented by Virginia Dare Winery, defeated the Pittsburg Diamonds 5-4 in a game that began with a strong start from Ty’Relle Harris and ended with a walk-off homer from Matt Hibbert.
“It was just a great game. The last two games have shown that this team is one of the best teams in the league so we have to grind it out,” Miyoshi said. “A game like this makes the team better.”
Trailing by two, Hibbert recorded the second walk-off hit of the series with a tenth-inning, three-run shot.
“I’m feeling ecstatic right now,” Hibbert said. “I just visualized myself doing it before I got up there and made it happen.”
Starter Ty’Relle Harris pitched eight innings, allowing one earned run. He held the Diamonds scoreless through six and issued just two walks. Despite spending time on the inactive list, Harris has 48 strikeouts on the season.
“(The pitching staff) is just giving us whatever they’ve got. Guys might be banged up or sore or whatever else, but when they come to the mound they’re going to compete,” Hibbert said. “On the offensive end, we just want to do our part.”
Both teams remained scoreless through the fourth inning.
Behind Harris, Isaac Wenrich recorded one of five hits for the Stompers and scored the first run of the game, stealing home on a wild pitch. Yuki Yasuda also homered in the game, delivering a “Yuki Bomb” to left field in the sixth.
The Diamonds responded quickly, scoring runs in both the seventh and eighth to turn the matchup into an extra-inning showdown.
With the win, Sonoma ties their best start to a half in franchise history at 6-0. The Stompers improve to 34-11 on the season while the Diamonds fall to 23-22.
“Everybody thinks we’re going to win the second half. We’re not going to try to go for the one game playoff. We know we’re good enough to win the second half too. Everybody just needs to keep grinding for that,” Miyoshi said.
The Stompers head to San Rafael for a three-game series against the Pacifics beginning Tuesday.
“It’s a daily process. We have to take every day, every pitch, every inning to get there. We can’t get too far ahead of ourselves. It’s a good start, but we still have work to do,” Hibbert said.
STOMPERS TICKETS
Tickets and merchandise are available now either online or at the fan shop at 234 W Napa Street in downtown Sonoma. Tickets will also be available at the box office on game days, beginning 30 minutes prior to the game.
For more information, please contact the front office at 707-938-7277, or email info@stompersbaseball.com.