Daniel Baptista (44) is greeted by Kenny Meimerstorf (12) after hitting his second home run of the day in the third inning of the Sonoma Stompers game against the Napa Silverados, August 7, 2018 in Sonoma, Calif.(James W. Toy III / Sonoma Stompers)
SONOMA, Calif. – Following a close win Sunday afternoon, the Sonoma Stompers’ bats came alive early Tuesday and added insurance late as they topped the Napa Silverados 11-3.
Right-hander Tyler Sharp delivered another spectacular outing in his fifth start of the season. After a leadoff single in the first, Sharp retired the next 19 batters he faced, with five perfect innings between the second and sixth.
“He just looked confident,” catcher Ryan Cooper said. “He trusted all of his stuff and when pitchers are like that, it’s a lot more fun to catch because you have options. They feel a little more confident too and it works out in everyone’s favor.”
While Sharp encountered trouble in the seventh, the bullpen shut the Silverados down quickly, pitching 2.2 scoreless innings to protect his fourth win of the year.
Cooper had his best game so far as a Stomper, collecting his second multi-hit night, but also driving in two runs, both times with two outs to help the offensive cause.
Seven Stompers hitters scored a run, seven recorded hits and five different players drove runs home with Cooper, Marcus Bradley, Kam Stewart and Daniel Baptista each collecting more than one RBI Tuesday night.
Baptista entered the game with four home runs on the season and left the night with six, crushing homers in his first two at-bats to drive in four runs.
“I’m just trying to keep it as simple as possible and put good wood on the ball,” Baptista said. “The only adjustment I’ve made is trying to get my foot down early and then see the pitch as long as possible. In my career, I’ve always been taught it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish, you’ve got to finish hard.”
Bradley also had three hits, while Kevin Farley and Rayson Romero each drew three walks and scored two runs. Baptista, who also drew a walk in the game scored three.
Sonoma scored five runs in the first three innings, added two in the sixth and then responded to Napa’s three-run seventh with four unanswered runs in their final two innings at the plate for a comfortable eight-run margin.
The Stompers look for their third sweep of the Silverados in 2018 Wednesday night, with a 6:05 p.m. first pitch.