Ty'Relle Harris (left) returned to the mound for the Stompers and pitched five innings of scoreless ball in Sonoma's 6-5 loss to the San Rafael Pacifics in extras. (James W. Toy III / Sonoma Stompers)
SAN RAFAEL, Calif.–The Sonoma Stompers Professional Baseball Club, presented by Virginia Dare Winery, lost just their second extra-inning contest of the season Tuesday with a 5-4 loss to the San Rafael Pacifics.
Offense came in bursts in the game, which gave the Pacifics their first extra-inning victory of the season. Prior to extras, all but three frames were scoreless.
Ty’Relle Harris, in his return to the mound for the Stompers after a brief stint in the American Association, pitched five shutout innings against San Rafael. Harris struck out eight through six and did not issue a single walk. All four runs earned came in the sixth inning and three of those came on a home run off the bat of Cameron Monger.
DJ Sharabi also executed another excellent outing, coming into Tuesday with an earned run average of zero in his last eight appearances. Sharabi has not allowed a run since Aug. 2.
In the ninth, the Pacifics loaded the bases on two walks and a hit by pitch. Jake Taylor, 3 for 5 on the night and the league leader in home runs, stepped up to the plate. Jacob Cox struck him out to send the game to extras.
Daniel Baptista went 3 for 4 with a walk and picked up a run batted in, starting a rally in the fifth that left the Stompers with a 4-0 lead. Baptista came into Tuesday hitting .389 in the last seven days.
In the tenth, a critical baserunning mishap and an excellent play by Pacifics catcher Ricky Gingras combined to secure the Stompers’ downfall.
The Stompers keep their one-game lead in the Pacific Association standings for now, as the contest between the second-best Vallejo Admirals and the Pittsburg Diamonds is delayed due to a power outage at Wilson Park.
With the loss, Sonoma falls to 18-13 in the second half and 46-25 overall.