(James W. Toy III / Sonoma Stompers)
SONOMA, Calif.– The Sonoma Stompers took revenge on the Pittsburg Diamonds, sweeping them Thursday and Friday after being swept in the last series they faced the Diamonds.
Thursday’s game ended in a walk off, with Daniel Comstock singling in two runners for the 11-10 win. Friday’s game was closer, as the 5-2 final was dominated by pitching and a big offensive inning from each team.
The Diamonds jumped out ahead early in game one, leading 8-1 through four and a half innings, with Miles Williams’ fourth home run of the season being the only offense of the game. The Stompers bats got to work in the sixth inning, scoring five runs on five walks and one hit.
Sonoma tied the game in the bottom of the eighth, drawing two more walks and collecting a pair of hits. Williams collected his second hit of the game with an RBI single and Kenny Meimerstorf extended his season-opening hit streak to seven games in the same manner.
Robbie Kidd and D.J. Sharabi combined for four hitless innings out of the bullpen, combining for seven strikeouts to keep the game close and provide the Stompers with a chance to win.
“We kept grinding out at-bats and hats off to our bullpen,” Comstock said. “They kept us in the game and gave us a shot to chip away and battle back and we put some good AB’s together.”
Comstock’s leadoff single with the international tiebreaker rule in effect scored Rob DeAngelis and pinch runner Marcus Bradley to carry momentum into Friday’s game for the Stompers.
“It’s unbelievable,” Comstock said. “We were down 8-1, there was no panic, there was a sense of calm in the game, we were always in the ballgame with our bats.”
While Pittsburg once again scored first, Sonoma countered quickly, putting up five runs in the fourth inning on four hits, including DeAngelis’ first hit with the team, a two-run triple and a two-run moonshot of a home run from Meimerstorf.
Starter Ethan Gibbons carried the team all night long, with the hits and runs he gave up in the third inning being the only ones the Diamonds managed all night long.
“Once I got my rhythm after they scored the two runs in the third, I really just settled in, for me my fastball control is everything.” Gibbons said. “Once I was able to establish my fastball down, I was having a lot of fun out there.”
After seven innings with seven strikeouts, he handed the ball off to Robert Maislin and Jacob Cox, who struck out four over the final two innings to increase the Stompers record in 2018 to 5-3.
“That’s a tough job,” Gibbons said. “It was nice to see them come out, great job.”
Sonoma travels to San Rafael Saturday for a 5 p.m. game against the Pacifics before facing the Diamonds in Pittsburg at 1 p.m. Sunday.