STOMPERS HANG ON LATE IN VALLEJO FOR 9-7 WIN OVER RED-HOT ADMIRALS

VALLEJO, Calif- The Sonoma Stompers got out to an early lead in Vallejo on Sunday afternoon but the Admirals, winners of 9 of their last 10, made a comeback but fell just short as the Stompers hung on to win. 

Vallejo got on the board first in the bottom of the 2nd inning against Stompers right-hander Nick Barnese (6-1). Tilman Pugh reached on a 4-pitch walk and went to second when Barnese’s pickoff attempt went up the first base line. Later in the inning Matt Eurest hit a grounder to Nick Gotta who committed an error, leading to a 1-0 Vallejo lead. 

Daniel Molinari led off the top of the 3rd inning with a walk and Pedro Barrios launched his 4th home run of the season to right-center field, giving the Stompers a 2-1 lead. Brent Gillespie joined in with a solo home run, his 12th, extending the lead 3-1. 

Nick Kern led off the top of the 4thinning with a single and a sacrifice fly by Molinari drove Kern home, making it 4-1 Stompers. 

Vallejo went to the bullpen early as John LaRossa entered the game and struggled in the top of the 5th. He loaded the bases by walking Gillespie, hitting Kern, and walking Rob DeAngelis. Matt Hibbert drove in a run with a walk to make it 5-1. LaRossa exited the game for left-hander Matt Terrones who immediately allowed a 2-run single to Molinari, extending the Stompers lead 7-1. 

Vallejo answered with 2 in the bottom half of the 5th inning on an RBI single from O’Koyae Dickson who later also scored on a wild pitch, cutting into the lead 7-3. 

Jacob Barfield hit his 17th homer of the season in the top of the 6thinning, extending the Stompers lead to 9-3. 

Barnese lasted 5 innings, allowing 3 runs, 2 of them earned on 5 hits while striking out 4. 

Vallejo scored a pair of run in the bottom of the 7th inning on a 2-run bomb by Nick Akins Sr. off Stomper reliever Lenny Gwizdala to make it 9-5.

Graylin Derke brought the Admirals closer with a 2-run bomb to right off Austin Orvis to make it a tight game going into the 9th. 

Ryan Richardson (2-0) allowed a hit in the 9th but that was all, picking up his 9th save in 9 tries as the Stompers magic number to clinch 1st place in the Pacific Association is now just 2. 

The Stompers are in Napa on Tuesday at 5:05. 

STOMPERS OFFENSE EXPLODES IN 17-3 WIN OVER STOCKADE

SONOMA, Calif- The Sonoma Stompers brought the bats to the yard on Saturday night when they homered 5 different times to blow out the Stockade for the second time in 3 games.

Nick Gotta opened the scoring in the bottom of the first inning, homering off of Salina’s Phil Rowland (0-4), to give the Stompers and early 1-0 lead. Pedro Barrios singled and later scored on a Chris Kwitzer RBI hit to extend the lead 2-0.

The offense blew the game wide open in the bottom of the 2nd inning. Nick Kern led off the inning with a solo home run, his 3rd of the season, to straight away left, upping the score to 3-0. Matt Hibbert was drilled, Bronson Butcher walked, and Rayson Romero reached on an error to load the bases with nobody out. Gotta walked to drive in a run to make it 4-0. Barrios blew the game open with his first grand slam of the season, his 3rd home run overall, extending the lead to 8-0. Rob DeAngelis immediately reached on catcher’s interference by Eric Kozak and later score on a Miles Williams RBI groundout which capped off the 7-run 2nd inning, putting the Stompers way out in front 9-0. 

Rowland lasted just 1 inning, allowing 9 runs, 7 earned on 6 hits.

In the bottom of the 3rd inning, against new Salina pitcher Jordan Young, the offense stayed hot. Romero doubled to right field to open the inning and with 1 out Barrios drove him in with an RBI single. After DeAngelis singled he stole second and Kozak threw the ball into center field, allowing Barrios to score and DeAngelis to go to third base as they Stompers now led 11-0. Williams joined the fun with a laser 2-run homer to center field, giving the Stompers a massive 13-0 lead.

Salina struggled against Stompers starter Pat Barnett (1-0) in his first start of the season. Zane Gelphman finally got the Stockade on the board in the top of the 4th inning with his 15th home run of the season, making it 13-1. 

With Aaron Sheaks on the mound now for Salina, the Stompers took advantage of the position player on the hill. Gotta singled to open the bottom of the 5th inning and he scored on Barrios’ RBI double, his 6th RBI of the game, making it 14-1. DeAngelis walked to put 2 men on base for Jacob Barfield who pinch-hit for Chris Kwitzer. Barfield emphatically homered on the first pitch he saw, a 3-run blast to left for his 16th bomb of the season to add to the monstrous lead, 17-1. 

Barnett tossed 6 innings, allowing just the 1 run on 6 hits while striking out 3. Well on his way to his first win of the season. 

Willie Ethington (4-0) tossed a clean 7th and Ethan Gibbons (2-3) then came on to pitch. Gibbons allowed a 2-run homer to Gelphman in the top of the 8thinning but those runs were the only ones he allowed as he closed out the 17-3 Stompers victory.

With Vallejo beating San Rafael, the Stompers magic number to clinch 1st place in the Pacific Association is now just 3 with 12 games left to play. The Stompers hit the road for a Sunday afternoon game with the Admirals next. 

BARRIOS WALKS IT OFF IN THE 10TH, STOMPERS COME BACK TO BEAT NAPA 11-10

SONOMA, Calif- The Sonoma Stompers notched their second walk-off win of the season on Friday night, coming back from being down 10-4, to walking it off in the bottom of the 10th inning.

Early and often scoring was the theme for both sides on Friday night. Napa got on the board early in the top of the 1st inning again Stomper right-hander Jacob Cox (3-0). Dakota Conners led off the game with a triple off the right-center field wall and scored on a wild pitch to give Napa a 1-0 lead. Cox then walked Sean Jackson on 4 pitches before giving up a 2-run homer to Josh Montelongo, his league-leading 17th, putting Napa up 3-0. 

The Stompers answered quickly in the bottom of the 1st inning. Nick Gotta walked on 4 pitches against Napa starter Gabe Katich (0-0). Jacob Barfield promptly doubled into the left field corner to put men at 2nd and 3rd. Chris Kwitzer drove them both home with a single up the middle, making it a 3-2 ballgame after 1 inning of play. 

The Stompers took the lead in the bottom of the 3rd inning. Gotta led off the inning with a triple to deep center. Kwitzer walked and with 2 outs Gotta scored on a base hit from Miles Williams to tie the game. With 2 men on, Pedro Barrios reached on an error by Nunez at second base to load the bases. Enjoying his 31st birthday, Matt Hibbert drove in his 2nd run of the season with a walk, giving the Stompers a 4-3 lead. 

Napa regained the lead in the top of the 4th inning when Conners hit his 1st home run of the  season, a 3-run shot to left off Cox, giving Napa a 6-4 lead. 

The Silverados continued to put up runs on Cox in the 5th. After 2 quick outs, Cox allowed a base hit to Brian Morley and walked Dom Bethancourt before Nick Ultsch lined a 2-run double down the left field line, extending the Napa lead 8-4. 

Cox finished after tossing 4 2/3 innings, allowing 8 runs on 9 hits while striking out 1 and walking 3. 

Willie Ethington (4-0) was the first Stomper out of the bullpen in the 5th.

In the 6th inning Napa’s lead grew even larger. Ethington walked Jackson to open the inning, then a base hit and a hit batsman loaded the bases for Brian Morely who picked up his first RBI of the season on a fielder’s choice to make it 9-4. A wild pitch brought another run home as Napa continued to pour it on, 10-4.

The Stompers offense went back to work in the bottom of the 6th inning against Katich. Hibbert reached to open the inning on an error by Conners at shortstop, opening the door. Bronson Butcher singled and Rayson Romero followed with a walk to load the bases. A wild pitch from Katich allowed a run to score and everyone to move up 90 feet, making it a 10-5 ballgame. Gotta grounded out to second base for the first out, driving in Hibbert to bring the score to 10-6. With 2 outs, Kwitzer drove in Romero from 3rd, Kwitzer’s 3rd RBI of the game, narrowing the Napa lead to just 10-7.

Katich’s night ended after 6 innings where he allowed 7 runs, 5 earned, om 8 hits while striking out 5. 

With 1 out in the bottom of the 7th inning, Barrios doubled and went to third base on a wild pitch. Hibbert worked another walk and Butcher was hit to load the bases with 1 out. Romero then hit a sacrifice fly to left-center, driving in Barrios to make it just a 2-run game, 10-8. 

The sidearm right hander Kyle Chavez (1-2) came into the game in the bottom of the 8th inning and retired both hitter he faced, stranding a runner at third to send us to the 9thin a 2-run game.

Ryan Richardson (2-0) tossed a 1-2-3 top of the 9th, keeping the deficit where it was and giving the Stompers offense a chance against Chavez in the bottom half. 

Hibbert struck out to open the inning and Butcher brought the tying run to the plate after he singled. Romero was then called out in strikes for the 2nd out of the inning. Gotta worked a walk against Chavez to put the tying run on base for Barfield who singled to left to load the bases with 2 outs. In a 1-2 count, Kwitzer bounced a single into center field, scoring Butcher from third and Gotta from second as the Stompers came all the way back from down 10-4 to 10-10 in the bottom of the 9th. Rob DeAngelis popped up to end the 9th and send the Stompers to their first extra-innings game of the season.

With the international tie-breaker rule, in extra-innings each team starts with runners at first and second base with nobody out. so by rule, Napa placed the last 2 batters of the previous inning, Jordan Anderson at 2nd and Willie Salas at first to start the inning.

Richardson went back to the mound to try and keep it tied in the 10th. Before he even threw a pitch the Stompers got the first out as Richardson threw to Gotta at second to pick off Anderson for the first out of the inning. he then got Conners to hit a soft line drive to Romero at shortstop for the second out and he struck out Jordan Garr to end the inning, keeping the game tied 10-10. 

By rule, the Stompers placed Kwitzer at second base and DeAngelis at first base to open the inning. with Chavez still on the mound, he faced Williams to start the innings and he hit Williams on the first pitch to load the bases. Pedro Barrios then stepped in and lined a 1-1 pitch into left-center field to walk it off and give the Stompers their second walk-off win of the season, both coming against the Napa Silverados.

The Stompers are now 37-14 and with a San Rafael loss, the magic number to clinch first place in the Pacific Association is now 5.

The Stompers are back home Saturday night against the Salina Stockade at 6:05. 

STOMPERS FALL TO SALINA 6-5 IN FIRST GAME OF HOME STAND

SONOMA, Calif- The Sonoma Stompers hosted the Salina Stockade on Thursday night at Palooza Park at Arnold Filed. 6 total home runs were blasted in the game but in the end, the Stompers came up just 1 run short.

Salina opened the scoring in the top of the first inning when Cody Bishop doubled off Stomper starter Vijay Patel (6-1). With 1 out, Cosimo Cannella drove in Bishop with an RBI groundout. Zane Gelphman followed with his 14thhome run of the season, putting Salina out in front early 2-0. 

The Stompers answered in the bottom of the 1st inning right away on Jacob Barfield’s 14th home run of the season, cutting into the lead 2-1. 

Salina put up 2 more runs in the top of the 3rdinning on Cannella’s 8th home run, a 2-run shot, extending the Stockade lead 4-1.

Daniel Molinari led off the bottom of the 3rd inning with a solo blast, his 2nd of the season, chipping away at the lead 4-2. With 1 out, Nick Gotta singled and Barfield followed with his 2nd home run of the game, his 15th of the season, tying the game 4-4. 

Patel finished after 5 innings allowing 4 runs on 5 hits while striking out 6. Ethan Gibbons (2-3) relieved Patel in the top of the 6thinning. 

Chuck Rocker reached on an error to open the top of the 6th inning and Nick Crouse took Gibbons deep to left to put Salina on top again, 6-4.

The Stompers loaded the bases in the bottom of the 8th inning against Zach Williams but were only able to score once, a Molinari RBI walk, to make it a 1-run ballgame but the Stompers failed to come all the way back, losing by that final.

The Stompers are back home Friday night against the Napa Silverados at 6:05.

STOMPERS DROP CLOSE GAME IN VALLEJO 9-7 ON TUESDAY NIGHT

VALLEJO, Calif- The Sonoma Stompers and Vallejo Admirals entered the ballgame the two hottest teams in the league as they battled out a close game until the very end.

The Stompers offense picked up right where it left off to open the ballgame, getting to Vallejo starter Jesse Remington (4-3) early on.

Nick Gotta led off the game with his Pacific Association leading 62nd walk and with 1 out Chris Kwitzer was hit by a pitch. Brent Gillespie made it 12 straight game with an RBI as he split the gap in left-center field for a 2-run double, opening the scoring 2-0. Miles Williams followed with his 12th home run of the season, a 2-run blast to right-center field as the Stompers jumped out in front 4-0. 

Konner Arnold (5-4) was in a groove early, striking out the side in the 1st inning, but Vallejo got to him the second time through the order. 

With the bases loaded and 1 out in the bottom of the 3rd inning, former Los Angeles Dodger O’Koyae Dickson singled through the left side to bring home a pair and make the score 4-2. Nick Akins Sr reached on a fielder’s choice right before Montrell Marshall smashed a 3-run homer to straight away center, capping off a 5-run inning, giving Vallejo a 5-4 lead. 

The Stompers tied the game in the top of the 5th inning when Williams doubled home Kwitzer who scored from 1st base with 2 outs, making it 5-5.

Vallejo grabbed the lead right back in the bottom half of the 5th inning when Gomez scored on a throwing error and Marshall drove home his 4th RBI of the game on an RBI groundout to bring Dickson home, extending the Vallejo lead 7-5. 

Rayson Romero brought the Stompers within 1 run with his 3rd homer of the season in the top of the 6th inning, an opposite-field shot to make the score 7-6. 

The Admirals scored 2 more times in the bottom of the 7th inning as Marshall drove in his 5th RBI with a single. Chevy Clarke added a sacrifice fly, bringing the score to 9-6.

The Stompers worked the bases loaded with just 1 out against the Vallejo bullpen in the top of the 8th inning but only cashed in 1 run on Matt Hibbert’s RBI groundout, cutting into the lead 9-7.

The Stompers could not mount the comeback, snapping the winning streak at 5 games. 

The Stompers are home for 3 straight games, starting Thursday night at 6:05 against the Salina Stockade. 

STOMPERS HOMER 3 MORE TIMES IN 13-3 WIN OVER NAPA FOR 5TH CONSECUTIVE VICTORY

SONOMA, Calif- The Sonoma Stompers scorching hot offense continued to roll on Monday night against the Napa SIlverados, extending their lead in the Pacific Association to 8.5 games over San Rafael. 

The Stompers got on the board first against Napa lefty Elvin Liraino (1-1) in the bottom of the 1st inning. Nick Gotta led off with a gap-splitting double to left-center field to get the offense rolling. Gotta moved to third base on a wild pitch with Matt Hibbert at the plate who worked a walk. Both runners moved up on a wild pitch the brought Gotta home to give the Stompers a 1-0 lead. With Jacob Barfield at the plate Hibbert stole 3rd base as the Stompers continued to threaten. Brent Gillespie doubled the lead 2-0 with a groundout to shortstop, driving in his 35th of the season.

Napa got on the board against Nick Barnese (5-1) in the top pf the 2nd inning for the first time. Barnese walked Bethancourt who then scored on a Dakota Conners double to make it a 1-run game 2-1. 

The Stompers answered back in the bottom of the 2nd inning when Liriano walked the bases loaded and then walked Gotta to bring Nick Kern home, giving the Stompers a 3-1 lead. 

Brent Gillespie led off the bottom of the 3rd inning with a solo home run to left, his 10th of the season, extending the lead 4-1. After a walk to Miles Williams, Liriano was yanked for reliever Devontae Glenn. 

With runners at the corners and 1 out, Bronson Butcher reached on an error by Napa’s Bethancourt, driving in a run and making it a 5-1 ballgame. 

Jordan Anderson homered in the top of the 4th inning off of Barnese to draw Napa closer, 5-2. 

With the bases loaded and 2 outs in the bottom of the 4th inning, Kern was hit by a pitch to drive in another Stomper run, bring in the score to 6-2. Still with 2 outs, Pedro Barrios bounced a 2-run single up the middle, scoring Barfield and Williams, upping the lead 8-2. The big swing in the inning was Butcher’s 3-run homer which he hooked down the left field corner, capping off the 6-run 4th inning and putting the Stompers way out in front 11-2.

In the bottom of the 6th inning Barrios tripled down the right field line, past a diving Justin Byrd and into the corner. With Barrios going into 3rdbase with a head-first slide, Byrd’s throw was way off line, resulting in a little league homerun. It was officially scored as a triple and an error as Barrios extended the lead 12-2. 

Napa got one back in the top of the 7th inning on an RBI double by Nick Ultsch, cutting the lead to 12-3. 

Gillespie launched his 2nd home run of the game, his first multi-homer game of the season, to deep right field, capping off the Stompers huge offensive night as they went up by 10, 13-3. 

Barnese tossed his longest outing of the season Monday night going 7 innings while allowing 3 runs on 5 hits and striking out 7.

Pat Barnett and Ryan Richardson both threw 1-2-3 innings to slam the door, giving the Stompers their 5th straight win.

The Stompers magic number to clinch 1stplace in the Pacific Association is now 8 with 16 games left to play.

The Stompers are on the road Tuesday night in Vallejo. After an off day Wednesday, the Stompers are at home Thursday night at 6:05 against the Salina Stockade. 

STOMPERS BLAST 6 HOME RUNS, SCORE FRANCHISE RECORD 21 RUNS IN MASSIVE 21-8 WIN

SONOMA, Calif- The Sonoma Stompers slugged their way to a franchise record-setting 21-8 win over the Salina Stockade on Sunday afternoon. The Stompers magic number is now 9 after the big win and they lead the Pacific Association by 8 games.

The scoring opened in the top of the 2nd inning when Salina catcher Nick Crouse launched a 2-run home run off Stomper starter Joseph Broderick (3-0) to put Salina ahead 2-0.

The Stompers answered with a massive bottom half of the second inning, shelling Eric Gleese (1-7). Miles Williams was hit by a pitch to open the inning, leading to a Jacob Barfield 2-run shot to left (13), tying the game 2-2. Nick Kernthen walked and with one out Kern went from first to third on a Rayson Romero single to right field. The Stompers took a 3-2 lead when Kern scored on a Gleese wild pitch. Nick Gotta extended the lead with an opposite-field 2-run homer, his 4th of the season, growing the lead 5-2. Matt Hibbert got in on the action with a walk before Brent Gillespie launched the Stompers 3rd, 2-run blast of the inning, making it 7-2 Stompers. 

Salina got one run back in the top of the 4th inning on a bases loaded walk to Cosimo Cannella, making the score 7-3. 

Miles Williams kept the homers coming in the bottom of the 4th inning. After a Chris Kwitzer single led off the inning, Williams blasted a 2-run bomb over the top of the left-field foul pole, putting the Stompers up 9-3. 

Salina got one more in the top of the 5th inning on Ryan Rodriguez’s 1st home run of the season, cutting into the Stomper lead 9-4. 

The Stockade got too close for comfort in the top of the 6th inning, scoring 3 times in the inning to cut the lead to 2 runs, 9-7.

The Stompers answered right back in the bottom of the 6th inning on Williams’ 2nd home run of the game, this time a 3-run blast to bring the score to 12-7, but the Stompers were not done. Barfield followed with a double and Daniel Molinari then lined a double off the left-center field wall to tack on one more run to make it 13-7.

The biggest offensive inning had yet to come for the Stompers. In the bottom of the 8th inning, back-to-back walks to Williams and Barfield put a pair of runners on base for Kern who blasted a 3-run tape-measure shot over everything in left, what some say may be the farthest home run hit at Palooza Park at Arnold Field as the score ballooned to 16-7. Hibbert reached base on an error by Artsen at shortstop to bring in a run 17-7. Kwitzer singled home a run to make it 18-7. Williams brought in his 6th RBI of the game with a groundout to make the score 20-7. Kern added 2 more RBI’s on a 2-run single up the middle, giving him a 5 RBI inning, extending the lead to 21-7. 

Salina scored once in the top pf the 9th inning but it was not enough to come back as the Stompers set a franchise record with 21 runs in the huge win.

The Stompers own an 8-game lead in the Pacific Association and are home again on Monday night against the Napa Silverados at 6:05. 

STOMPERS SLUG THEIR WAY PAST NAPA 10-4, BACKING COX’S QUALITY START WITH 3 6TH INNING HOMERS

SONOMA, Calif- The Sonoma Stompers were deadlocked with Napa 2-2 for the majority of the game before homering 3 times in the bottom of the 6th inning before eventually taking the game by a final of 10-4.

Jacob Cox (3-0) took the mound for the Stompers and was out into a jam right away in the top of the 1st inning. A hit and a walk put 2 runners on but Cox induced a strikeout and a pop up to strand runners at second and third. 

Napa got on the board first in the top of the 2nd inning on a 2-run single off the bat of Justin Byrd, giving Napa an early 2-0 lead.

Brent Gillespie roped a leadoff double to open the last of the 2nd inning again Napa starter Billy Felo (4-3). With 1 out, Felo hit Rob DeAngelis to put runners at first and second. Felo then got Pedro Barrios to ground to shortstop but Salas threw the ball away, allowing Gillespie to score to make it 2-1, DeAngelis to go to third, and Barrios to go to second. Bronson Butcher then ripped an RBI single to left to tie the ballgame 2-2. 

Jacob Cox (3-0), in his 2nd quality start in a row, tossed 6 innings while allowing just 3 hits, all of them in the first 2 innings, while allowing just 2 runs and striking out a career high 8. 

His offense erupted in the bottom of the 6th inning off Billy Felo. Chris Kwitzer started the inning with a laser single off the foot of Napa first baseman Josh Montelongo. Gillespie then hit a towering 2-run bomb to right-center to give the Stompers a 4-2 lead, but they were not done yet. Jacob Barfield hit the very next pitch out to left, going back-to-back, extending the lead 5-2. The next pitch from Billy Felo wound up going behind DeAngelis which fired up the New York native, clearing the benches for the second straight night. After cooler heads finally did prevail, DeAngelis went down on strikes for the first out. After finally collecting an out, it was Nick Kern’s turn to pinch-hit against his former team. Kern promptly launched a no-doubt homer to left, his first of the season, giving the Stompers a 6-2 lead. 

Napa Answered right back on Jordan Anderson’s 6th home run of the season to lead off the top of the 7th, cutting the lead 6-3 off Stompers reliever Ethan Gibbons( 2-2).

Napa looked to the bullpen for some help against the red-hot Stomper offense in the 7th, but nothing worked.

Andrew Fuentes came in and the Stompers continued to mash. Kwitzer led off the bottom of the 7th being hit by the pitch. Gillespie lined his second double of the game to left to set the table with runners at second and third with nobody out. Miles Williams pinch-hit for Barfield and drew a walk to load the bases. Tito Fuentes Jr was then forced to bring in the closer Rob Humes in the 7th. 

Humes immediately allowed a 2-run double to DeAngelis who extended the lead 8-3. Kern and Butcher followed with back-to-back RBI groundout to put the Stompers ahead 10-3.

Josh Montolongo greeted Gibbons for the second inning in a row with a leadoff home run in the top of the 8th inning, closing the gap slightly 10-4. 

Ryan Richardson (1-0) slammed the door in the 9thinning, collecting a pair of strikeouts to send the Stompers to their 3rd straight victory. 

With just 18 games left, the Stompers magic number sits at 10 to clinch first place in the Pacific Association.

The Stompers are back in action on Sunday afternoon at 1:05 against the Salina Stockade. 

TEMPERS FLARE EARLY IN SAN RAFAEL, GILLESPIE SLAMS STOMPERS PAST PACIFICS 10-6

SAN RAFAEL, Calif- The Sonoma Stompers traveled to San Rafael on Friday night to take on the second place Pacifics. Chris Kwitzer and Brent Gillespie’s big home runs pushed the Stompers to a big road win, pushing the Stompers Pacific Association lead to 7.5 games, their largest of the season.

Nick Gotta opened things in the top of the first inning with a walk against Andres Hackman (0-1). Matt Hibbert was hit by a pitch to get on base and Kwitzer grounded into a fielder’s choice, forcing Hibbert out at second base, to put men at the corners with 1 out. Miles Williams walked to load the bases for Rob DeAngelis who was at the plate when Hackman’s wild pitch allowed Gotta to score to give the Stompers a 1-0 lead. 

In the top of the 3rd inning Chris Kwitzer demolished his 6th home run of the season to deep right field to extend the lead 3-0. After Kwitzer admired his home run, San Rafael catcher Ermindo Escobar had some choice words for Kwitzer, resulting in the benches clearing and both sides being warned.

With tensions running high, Vijay Patel (6-1) got the first 2 outs quickly in the bottom of the 3rd inning but then fell into some control problems, walking the bases loaded with 2 outs. Corey Dempster then singled home the first Pacifics run and a second run scored when DeAngelis bobbled the ball in left, making it a tight game 3-2.

San Rafael tied the game in the bottom of the 4th inning on Kevin Connolly’s first home run in his first game, tying it 3-3. 

The Stompers went back ahead in the top of the 5th inning. Back-to-back singles by Gotta and Hibbert set the table. Kwitzer hit a deep fly ball to right for the first out, allowing Gotta to go to third base. He then scored on Gillespie’s sacrifice fly to center as the Stompers regained a 4-3 lead. 

Miles Williams and Rob DeAngelis notched back-to-back doubles to open the top of the 6th inning and extend the lead 5-3. Nick Kern got in on the action, driving in DeAngelis with a single to center, upping the lead 6-3. 

The offense erupted in the top of the 7th inning against San Rafael reliever Brad Bero. Gotta picked up his 3rd single of the game to lead off the inning while Hibbert was hit again and Kwitzer loaded the bases with a walk. Brent Gillespie broke it wide open with his first grand slam of the season, his 7thhome run, and the Stompers jumped out in front 10-3. 

San Rafael answered in the bottom half of the 7th inning on a Dempster 3-run home run, bringing the score to 10-6, eventually knocking Patel out of the game.

Patel dazzled Friday night, tossing 6 2/3 innings, while allowing 7 hits and striking out 11. His 11 strikeouts were 1 short of his season high back on June 21stwhen he tied the franchise record with 12 punchouts.

Pat Barnett tossed 1 1/3 innings of relief before Zack Pace handed the ball to the newest Stompers reliever Austin Orvis who slammed the door in the 9th.

With the win, the Stompers are 21 games over .500 with a record of 33-12 and now own their largest lead of the season at 7.5 games.

The Stompers are home for 3 in a row starting Saturday night at 6:05 against the Napa Silverados. 

GOTTA’S KEEN EYE LEADS TO STOMPERS FIRST WALK-OFF OF 2019

SONOMA, Calif- The Sonoma Stompers broke their 3-game losing streak to the Napa Silverados on Thursday night in walk-off fashion when Nick Gotta worked a walk-off walk to beat Napa 7-6.

Napa used their creativity on the base paths in the top of the first inning to get on the board against Stompers right-hander Konner Arnold (5-3). Justin Byrd led off the game with a single and stole 2 bases, including home, on a lackadaisical throw back to the pitcher to put Napa up 1-0.

The Silverados scored once again in the top of the 2nd inning on a Jake Marshall broken bat single into left to score Jordan Garr and make it 2-0 Napa.

The Stompers finally got to the 6’ 7” Napa starter Sean Johnson (2-5) in the bottom of the 3rd inning. Gotta singled to lead off the inning. Johnson then hit Matt Hibbert and walked Chris Kwitzer to load the bases. Back-to-back strikeouts put the Stompers in a hole but Rob DeAngelis singled past a diving Montelongo at first base to bring home a pair of runs and tie the game 2-2. With men at the corners and 2 out, Johnson’s wild pitch allowed Kwitzer to score as the Stompers took a 3-2 lead. 

Napa scored twice more in the top of the 5th inning after Byrd and Salas collected back-to-back singles to open the inning. Montelongo drove in a run with a single to tie the game and Nicco Toni put Napa ahead when he grounded into a 5-4-3 double play to give Napa a 4-3 lead. 

Arnold pitched into the 6th inning but failed to record an out after loading the bases. He went 5 innings while allowing 5 runs, 4 earned, on 8 hits and struck out 5. Willie Ethington (3-0) was the first man out of the bullpen for Zack Pace. 

Ethington did walk in a run to extend the Napa lead 5-3 in the top of the 6th inning. After getting 2 quick outs in the 7th, Ethington allowed back-to-back hits and an error by Kwitzer at third base allowed Napa to load the bases and forced Pace to make another change, going to the sidearm right-hander out of the pen.

Marshall Shill came on and got Jake Marshall to groundout to shortstop to end the inning without allowing another run. 

Hibbert and Kwitzer notched back-to-back singles to open the bottom of the 7th inning against Napa reliever Andrew Fernandez before Brent Gillespie singled to bring home a run, bringing the Stompers within 1 run, 5-4.

Napa got the run back in the top of the 8th inning, stealing home for the second time in the game. This time, William Salas took advantage of the mental lapse by Ethan Gibbons (2-2) and Bronson Butcher to steal a run and go back up 6-4. 

Kyle Chavez came in for Napa out of the bullpen in the bottom of the 8th inning to try and hold the lead. After a quick first out, he allowed a single to Bronson Butcher who then went to second base on a throwing error by Sean Jackson in centerfield. A walk to Rayson Romero put 2 men on for Gotta who singled down the left field line but Ultsch could not play the trick bounce as it got by him, allowing a run to score to make it 6-5 and allowing Romero to go to third and Gotta to go to second. Hibbert then singled softly into shallow right field to tie the game 6-6 and Gotta was thrown out at the plate trying to give the Stompers the lead. 

Entering the 9th inning tied 6-6, Pace pulled out all the stops, bringing in closer Ryan Richardson (1-0) who struck out the side to send the game to the bottom of the 9th tied. 

Rob Humes (2-3) the Napa closer then came on and got a quick strikeout to open the inning. DeAngelis worked a walk to put the winning run on base. Then, with Nick Kern at the plate, DeAngelis stole second and went to third on a throwing error by the catcher Marshall. With the winning run 90 feet away, Kern got the intentional pass to set up a potential double play. With runners at the corners and 1 out, Butcher struck out for the second out of the inning. It was up to Romero now to end the game or extend it. The right-handed batter worked an 8-pitch walk to load the bases for Gotta, the toughest man to retire in the Pacific Association, boasting a .545 on-base percentage. Gotta worked a 4-pitch walk to end the ball game, sending the home fans home happy, and giving the Stompers their first walk-off win of 2019.

The Stompers are back in action Friday night in San Rafael at 6:30. They enter the game with a 6.5 game lead over the Pacifics for 1st place.