Story written by Stompers Intern Isaac Sullivan
SONOMA, CA
The Sonoma Stompers are coming off a 3-0 opening homestand this past week, striving to maintain their winning ways. Their most recent win was a commanding 7-0 win against the Petaluma Leghorns. The Stompers hammered their way to 13 hits. Their early offensive onslaught provided them with a 6-0 cushion, which they would never relinquish after just three innings. The win perfectly capped off a successful opening week.
Led by Max Handron with his .636 batting average, the Stompers were able to hit their way to a grand total of 20 runs through three games. The pitching side has also come out strong, as they have produced 40 strikeouts resulting in only two runs allowed so far. A balanced offense and defense has allowed the Stompers to achieve an impressive +18 run differential.
Starting tonight, the Stompers will begin CCL competition, when they host three more games at Arnold Field though Saturday. Sunday, they will play their first road game of the season.
Tonight, the Stompers face the Walnut Creek Crawdads, who finished their summer season last year with a record of 22-23. The pitching staff of the Stompers will be put to the test against the Crawdads as seven of their players finished last season with a .300 batting average or better.
Friday night, the Stompers will face the defending CCL Champion Healdsburg Prune Packers. The Packers open their season tonight against the Solano Mudcats after concluding last summer’s dominating season represented by a 45-7 record. The Stompers’ batters will have their hands full facing a pitching staff that frustrated and struck out 345 batters last year.
Saturday night, the Stompers will face the scorching Lincoln Potters, who are 7-1 on the season. With two home runs and two doubles on the season, the Stompers will have to be cautious when pitching to Dan Pruitt, who has also drawn nine walks.
In their first road game of this season, the Stompers will travel to face the Solano Mudcats on Sunday. The Mudcats lost their opener 10-5, and are trying to move on from a disappointing 8-30 record last season that ended on a nine-game losing streak. They are 1-3 on the campaign to this point, falling 19-3 to the Walnut Creek Crawdads last night in their CCL opener.
After a few days off, with time to practice, the Stompers still hope to be undefeated at the end of this weekend. Thursday, Friday and Saturday’s games will be on Sonoma TV Comcast Channel 27 and the Sonoma Sompers YouTube page. Sunday’s game will be broadcast on the Sonoma Stompers radio network, with first pitch at 1:00pm.