After defeating the San Luis Obispo Blues, the Sonoma Stompers now turn their attention to the Walnut Creek Crawdads. The number one seed and familiar foe will host the Stomps, tomorrow Wednesday the 31st at 4:00 at Monte Vista High School. The Crawdads put together a CCL record of 23-14, led by one of the most elite offenses in the conference.
Walnut Creek sports a team batting average of .281, which is the best in the entire CCL. Their team on base percentage and slugging percentage are both above .400, which are both the highest in the league. They’ve smacked a total of 34 homeruns as a team, the next closest are the Stompers with 21.
Five names lead the way on offense for the Crawdads, starting with their third hitter, Presley Kosciusko. The UCSB product has a 1.089 OPS, leading the CCL in RBIs (40) and homeruns (9). Utility player Isaiah Walker leads the Crawdads with an impressive .360 batting average. He is tied with infielder Cam Calvillo for total hits with 45. Calvillo sports a .345 average as well. Mark Wolbert and Ethan Liao also have been major contributors for the Crawdads.
On defense, Walnut Creek is solid as well, having similar statistics to Sonoma. They’ve put together a regular season with a 3.94 ERA, and opponents bat .244 against them, the same as the Stompers. The Crawdads have tossed 321 strikeouts on the season, in 328.2 innings, slightly lower than the Stomps rate.
Jaxon Byrd leads the starting rotation for Walnut Creek, as he’s pitched the most innings and has a 4-0 record with an ERA of 1.99. Drew Augiar has been elite out of the bullpen, appearing fifteen times in relief, striking out 42 opponents in 39.2 innings. On top of that, he holds a 1.59 ERA.
The Stompers have faced the Crawdads eight times before and they’ve split the series even at 4-4. It’s been pretty even with these teams, but the Stompers have won the last two, looking to keep that momentum and the momentum of their six game winning streak as they face the Crawdads. Stomper’s to look out for are newcomers Max Handron and DJ Scott who had huge wildcard performances. Trent Abel also had a good night and will look to keep up his momentum. Also watch out for Alijah Ramos to rebound after a hitless Wild Card game.
After not having to play a Wild Card game, Walnut Creek will be well rested to face Sonoma, so we will have a compelling matchup. Make sure to tune into our live radio broadcast to catch all the action! Just follow this link: https://sonoma-stompers.mixlr.com/.