Isaac Wenrich had a big weekend in Pittsburg, adding two more hits on Sunday to finish 7-for-15 over three games. He's now hitting .311/.376/.533 on the season.
James Toy III/Sonoma Stompers
Tim Livingston, Director of Broadcasting & Media Relations
The Sonoma Stompers missed out on their fifth sweep of the season as the Pittsburg Stompers kept the pressure on early and pulled away for good late in a 9-6 loss for the first-place Stompers.
Sonoma (19-4) took the lead in the fifth after an odd play, as a fly ball by Kristian Gayday was tracked down by Pittsburg (8-16) center fielder Tim Battle, but Battle up and dropped the ball instead of collecting the final out of the inning. Joel Carranza scored to tie the game and Yuki Yasuda followed with an RBI double to plate Gayday and make it 4-3.
But Matt Walker (2-1) couldn't get through the sixth, as the Diamonds put together a rally that chased the Stompers Opening Night starter from the game with two outs in the inning. Battle atoned for his error with a bases-clearing double just out of the reach of Fehlandt Lentini in center to give Pittsburg the lead for good.
Sonoma looked like they were going to really turn things around in the seventh when Daniel Baptista and Andrew Parker both hit solo shots to cut the Pittsburg lead to 7-6, but the Diamonds turned around and got those two runs back in the eighth, with Steve Chapter slamming the door shut in the ninth for his fifth save.
Gayday and Isaac Wenrich both had two hits for the Stompers, with Wenrich going 7-for-15 with three doubles over the weekend. Carranza went 0-for-3 before leaving the game for precautionary reasons with a groin issue, breaking his seven game hit streak.
One thing that didn't change with Sonoma's loss was their spot in the Pacific Association standings. While both Vallejo and Pittsburg gained a game on the Stompers, San Rafael's 2-1 loss on Sunday kept the team seven games ahead of the defending champions in the standings.
The two teams will face off seven times over the next week beginning on Tuesday. Sonoma will travel to San Rafael for three games before coming home on Friday, July 3 for three games. On Sunday, July 5 Sonoma will play that unique day-night home and home doubleheader with a 7-inning game beginning at 1:05 p.m. at Arnold Field and a second 7-inning game starting at 6:05 p.m. in San Rafael.
Tuesday's game will begin at 7:05 p.m. with the radio broadcast beginning at 6:50 p.m. Big lefty Eric Schwieger will get the start for Sonoma, who lost their only game of the season that they played in San Rafael back on June 10.