Rayson Romero follows through on his home run in the second inning of the Sonoma Stompers game against the San Rafael Pacifics, August 30, 2018 in Sonoma, Calif.(James W. Toy III / Sonoma Stompers)
SONOMA, Calif. – Despite breaking the league’s win record Wednesday night, the Sonoma Stompers kept rolling into Thursday with a 6-4 win over the second place San Rafael Pacifics.
The Stompers scored three runs in the second inning on home runs from Niko Pacheco and Rayson Romero but did not back town despite San Rafael taking a 4-3 lead.
Kenny Meimerstorf tied the score in the seventh with an RBI double and Bronson Butcher gave Sonoma the lead with a single to score Meimerstorf, his 15th hit and eighth RBI in his 14th game as a Stomper.
“I’m just trying to stay aggressive,” Butcher said. “I’m not really letting myself get passive in the box. Some guys have helped me try to be a little more patient with pitching but I’m a very, very aggressive hitter as far as jumping on balls early.”
Insurance in the eighth on a Kam Stewart sacrifice fly gave Sonoma two-run lead, enough for D.J. Sharabi to earn his first save of the season.
Juan Espinosa started on the mound and pitched six outstanding innings, allowing just three hits and one walk, while striking out eight and not giving up an earned run.
Once Espinosa left the game, Vijay Patel pitched out of the bullpen for the first time since early July and pitched two shutout innings with three strikeouts to record his ninth win of the season. The victory made Patel the first Stompers pitcher to earn more than eight in a season.
“It’s really crazy, considering most of them were out of the bullpen,” Patel said. “It’s a great team. Every time I come in the game, no matter what the score is, those guys end up fighting for me and finding a way to get the lead. A lot of the credit goes to them, but it feels great to have a record though, I’m not going to lie.”
With one regular season game left, the Stompers and Pacifics face each other once more Friday night before both teams prepare to host playoff games Saturday.
Sonoma will host the league’s fourth place team, either Pittsburg or Vallejo, at 7:05 p.m. Saturday at Palooza Park at Arnold Field. Should the Stompers win that game, they would host the league championship game at Arnold Field Sunday, Sept. 2, at 7:05 p.m.