Isaac Wenrich set a Stompers record with seven RBIs in Sonoma's 17-3 win over Vallejo.
James Toy III/Sonoma Stompers
Tim Livingston, Director of Broadcasting & Media Relations
It's only been a week into the 2015 season, but the Sonoma Stompers are setting a historic pace.
No, it's not just the #OnPaceFor78Wins part or the stellar bullpen work. Thanks to Sunday's 17-3 blowout of the Vallejo Admirals, the Sonoma Stompers accomplished four things that had never been done before in the team's history.
The most obvious accomplishment at first glance is the 17 runs, which broke the record of 15 runs that the Stompers set in a game against the Pittsburg Mettle on July 11, 2014. Sonoma scored in seven consecutive innings on Sunday, and the hit that put Sonoma (6-0) ahead for good was just the beginning of a great day for catcher Isaac Wenrich.
After Joel Carranza beat out a possible double play ball to keep the inning alive in the third, the former Vallejo (3-3) catcher came to the plate against former batterymate David Dinelli (1-1) and took him deep and out to right field for a three-run homer to give Sonoma 4-0 lead.
While four runs would have been plenty, Wenrich and the Stompers were far from satisfied. The catcher came up again in the seventh with two runners on and launched another homer to right for his second three-run shot of the game. When he added another run on an RBI single in the eighth, Wenrich extended his new single-game RBI record to seven, surpassing the mark of five previously set by Joel Carranza, Matt Marquis and Matt Hibbert.
As a team, the win extended Sonoma's franchise-best winning streak to six games and gave the Stompers their first ever 6-0 week. The 17 hits on Sunday tied the team record for hits that was set twice in 2014, and all nine starters for Sonoma had at least one hit. Kristian Gayday ended an 0-8 skid with three hits while Fehlandt Lentini, Gered Mochizuki, Sergio Miranda and Mark Hurley each had two hits apiece.
Paul Hvozdovic (2-0) picked up his second win in relief of starter Matt Walker. Walker was an out shy of being considered for the victory in the fifth, but Michael Cerda's two-run single chased him in favor of the lefty from West Virginia. Hvozdovic was good again for Sonoma, allowing a walk while striking out two in 2 1/3 innings. His only blemish was a solo homer given up to Vallejo's Brad Young.
Gregory Paulino made his first relief appearance of the year and looked superb after his rough outing as a starter on Wednesday, throwing two perfect innings to close out the game with three strikeouts.
In their first six games, the Stompers are hitting .319/.406/.459 as a team, leading the league by far in all three categories. They have a 79 point lead in batting average, an 85 point lead in on-base percentage and a 92 point lead in slugging percentage. Not coincidentally, the Stompers lead the league in hits (73, 2nd highest - 52, VAL), walks (30, 2nd highest - 21, VAL), and home runs (7, 2nd highest - 5, VAL).
UPCOMING SERIES WITH PACIFICS SEES GAME CHANGES
With the Golden State Warriors playing in their first NBA Finals since 1975, the San Rafael Pacifics have come to an agreement with the Stompers to change the date of two games during their upcoming three-game series from June 9-11.
Both the Tuesday, June 9 game and the Thursday, June 11 game have been postponed in accordance with Games 3 and 4 of the NBA Finals. One game will be made up with a unique day-night home-and-home doubleheader on Sunday, July 9. After the regularly scheduled home game for the Stompers that afternoon at 1:05 p.m., the two teams will travel back to San Rafael for the nightcap beginning at 6:05 p.m. Both games will be seven-inning games.
The second game to be made up has yet to be announced.
The Stompers will play next on Wednesday night in San Rafael in the only game the two teams will play in San Rafael this week. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. However, the Pacifics will come to Sonoma this upcoming weekend for a three game series beginning on Friday, June 12. That's the beginning of Sonoma's Jose Canseco Weekend at Arnold Field, as the former Major League slugger will suit up for the Stompers against the two-time defending Pacific Association champions for two games.