(James W. Toy III / Sonoma Stompers)
SSONOMA, Calif. – Riding the success of a come-from-behind victory on Wednesday, the Sonoma Stompers welcomed the Martinez Clippers into Palooza Park at Arnold Field Thursday evening for the third meeting between the two teams in 2018. Sonoma picked up a 4-2 victory, the team's eighth win of the season and second in as many days.
After taking the lead late on Wednesday, the Stompers jumped out early Thursday, scoring two runs in the first inning on the power of two hits, including a double from Kam Stewart.
While the Clippers scored in the fourth and sixth, Sonoma countered in the fifth and seventh. With two outs in the fifth, Kenny Meimerstorf crushed his fifth home run of the season to stretch the lead to 3-1. After another Stewart double in the seventh, Daniel Comstock singled him in to give the Stompers a 4-2 lead that held for the remainder of the ballgame.
Ethan Gibbons made his third start of the season, his second straight of at least seven innings. Manager Zack Pace then called upon Robert Maislin and Jacob Cox for the second straight night each as the two helped finish off the Clippers.
“It’s fun to go out there and do my job,” Cox said. “It’s fun because [the closer role] is high-risk, high-reward. The team plays their heart out for eight innings, I don’t want to ruin that chance for the win so I do it for them. If you think about doing it for other people, that’s when you’re allowed to put the team on your back and do it for them, not for yourself.”
One of those that Cox played for was Michael Gold, the son of Stompers partner Robin Gold, branch manager at Sonoma’s Union Bank. Michael was in the starting lineup as the designated hitter, batting eighth. With one out in the second, he ripped a ground ball up the middle for a single in his first professional at-bat, retiring with a perfect 1.000 batting average.
The Stompers host the Clippers again Friday night for JDRF Night. First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 p.m.