STOMPERS DROP GAME 1 OF CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES TO SAN RAFAEL 8-5

SONOMA, Calif- The Sonoma Stompers awaited their opponent for the championship series on Friday night and for the 4th time in the last 5 years, it was San Rafael. The Pacifics have beaten the Stompers in 2 of the last 3 playoff meetings. 

Both starters looked unhittable through the first 3 innings, or was it the sputtering offenses. San Rafael jumped out to an early lead in the top of the 4th inning. After Vijay Patel (7-1) got a quick first out, he walked Yeiler Peguero and hit Axel Johnson. With 2 outs, Zane Gelphman drove in the pair with a single, putting San Rafael out in front 2-0. Another hit and a hit-by-pitch loaded the bases and knocked Patel out of the game. 

Marshall Shill (1-0) was the first out of the bullpen for manager Zack Pace. Shill hit Montelongo with the bases loaded to bring in a 3rdrun in the inning and give the Pacifics a 3-0 lead. 

The Stompers responded in the bottom of the 5th inning against Justin Watland (3-0). A Bronson Butcher leadoff single and a 1-out walk by Nick Gotta brought they tying run to the plate. On a 1-0 pitch, Jacob Barfield launched a laser home run to left-center field, tying the game 3-3. 

After a clean inning from Jacob Cox (3-0), Lenny Gwizdala (0-2) came into the game in the 7th. After striking the first man out, Gwizdala got Peguero to pop up in between the mound and home plate. Miscommunication between Gwizdala and Butcher resulted in an error and Peguero reaching first base. Johnson then drove him in with a base hit to give the Pacifics a 4-3 lead. Gelphman added to the wound with a 2-run bomb to extend the San Rafael lead to 6-3. 

The Stompers answered right back with 2 in the bottom half of the inning on an RBI double by Brent Gillespie to score Pedro Barrios. Gillespie later scored on a bases loaded walk by Rayson Romero, inching the Stompers closer, 6-5.

In the top of the 9th inning San Rafael scored twice more with the help of 2 Stomper errors, extending the lead back out to 8-5.

The Stompers failed to make a comeback as they drop game 1 while stranding 13 baserunners.

Game 2 is at Albert Park in San Rafael on Saturday, August 31 at 5:00.

STOMPERS THUMP ADMIRALS IN REGULAR SEASON FINALE, 19-6

SONOMA, Calif- The Sonoma Stompers hosted the Vallejo Admirals on Monday night, a make-up game, as well as the final game of the regular season. The offense did not disappoint, putting 19 runs on the board in a one-sided victory to close out the year. 

Vallejo did strike first in the ballgame in the top of the 1st inning. against Ethan Gibbons (3-4), Vallejo designated hitter O’Koyae Dickson walked and Montrell Marshall doubled with 2 out to put 2 men in scoring position. Vlad Gomez singled them both home to give the Admirals and early 2-0 lead. 

The Stompers offense exploded in the bottom of the 2nd inning against Vallejo starter Harold Myles (1-0). Brent Gillespie opened the inning with a base hit. Miles Williams was hit by a pitch and Chris Kwitzer walked to load the bases. Bronson Butcher then drew an RBI walk to put the Stompers on the board 2-1. Rob DeAngelis then collected an RBI hit to tie the game 2-2. With 1 out, Nick Gotta hit a sacrifice fly to center to give the Stompers their first lead, 3-2. Jacob Barfield followed with a walk to load the bases again and Pedro Barrios was hit to bring in another run, making it 4-2. In Gillespie’s second plate appearance in the inning he walked to bring in a run and the fin al run of the inning scored on a wild pitch, capping off the 6-run 3rd inning to give the Stompers a 6-2 lead. 

In the bottom of the 3rd inning Bitcher worked his second walk of the game and DeAngelis immediately reached on catcher’s interference. With first and second, Rayson Romero lined a base hit into right-center to score Butcher as DeAngelis went to third, extending the lead 7-2. With runners at the corners and 1 out, Myles picked over to first base and the throw got passed Marshall, allowing DeAngelis to score and Romero to go all the way to third. Romero later scored on a passes ball as the Stompers led 9-2 after 3 innings of play. 

Gibbons only went 4 innings on 52 pitches while allowing just the 2 runs on 4 hits as he walked 1 and struck out 3. 

Konner Arnold (6-5) entered the game in the top of the 5th and Chevy Clarke rudely welcomed him with a solo homer, cutting into the lead 9-3. Later in the inning Tillman Pugh went deep to make it 9-4. 

The Stompers countered in the bottom half of the 5th inning with runs of their own. Gotta led off the inning with his 83rd walk of the season and with 1 out Barrios doubled to left center to put runners at second and third. Matt Hibbert, pinch hitting in Gillespie’s spot, tripled to left-center to clear the bases and extend the lead out to 11-4. With 2 outs Kwitzer tripled to right-center to bring Hibbert home and make it a 12-4 game. Kwitzer came in on an RBI single from DeAngelis, finishing the 4-run 5thto make the lead 13-4. 

Vallejo scored once in the top of the 6th on a Matt Eureste RBI hit to cut into the lead, 13-5. They also scored once more in the top of the 7th on a Ryan Cooper RBI walk to make it 13-6.

The Admirals, trailing by a bunch, sent outfielder Jacob Wark to the mound in the bottom of the 8th to save the bullpen for the playoffs as he made his first appearance of the season. Romero welcomed him with a no-doubt blast to left field, Romero’s 4thto make it 14-6. With 1 out Barfield walked, Barrios singled and Hibbert was plunked to load the bases. On a 1-0 pitch, Williams launched a no-doubt home run into the trees, his 15th, growing the lead to 18-6. The Stompers loaded the bases again in the inning, all on walks, and Gotta took his 84thwalk of the season to make it 19-6. With that walk, Gotta ties his manager Zack Pace for the most walks in a single season in the Pacific Association in 16 less games. 

The Stompers host game 1 of the Pacific Association Championship Series on Friday night at 6:05. 

NAPA WINS BACK-AND-FORTH CONTEST IN THE 9TH, 8-7

NAPA, Calif- The Sonoma Stompers traveled to Napa to play the Silverados for the final time of the 2019 regular season. Napa went up early but the Stompers led from the middle innings until Napa walked of in the bottom of the 9th.

Napa got on the board first against Stompers starter Nick Barnese( 7-1). With 1 out, Dakota Conners singled and Nico Toni singled to put 2 men on. Nick Ultsch delivered an RBI double to left to give Napa the first lead. Josh Montelongo drove in another run on an RBI groundout, extending the Napa lead to 2-0. 

The Stompers were held off the board until the top of the 5th when Napa brought in their 3rd pitcher, Andrew Fuentes. Pedro Barrios welcomed Fuentes into the game by singling on the first pitch he saw. Brent Gillespie and Miles Williams drew back-to-back walks to load the bases. Fuentes got a pair of strikeouts before Rob DeAngelis singled to put the Stompers on the board, but still trailing 2-1.Rayson Romero then singled home a pair, giving the Stompers a 3-2 lead. The 4th run of the inning scored on a wild pitch as the Stompers led 4-2 halfway through the ballgame. 

Napa got one back in the bottom half of the inning on a sacrifice fly from Toni, cutting into the Stomper lead 4-3. 

The Stompers put a pair of runs on the board in the top of the 6th on a Chris Kwitzer 2-run bomb, snapping an 0-17 slump and extending the lead to 6-3. 

The Stompers extended the lead once more in the top of the 7th inning when Gillespie reached on a fielder’s choice with the bases loaded to make it 7-3. 

In the bottom of the 7th inning Jacob Cox (3-0) came in to hold the lead. A pair of singles and a 2 out wild pitch strikeout loaded the bases for Montelongo who took Cox deep on the first pitch for a game-tying grand slam. 

With the game tied, Lenny Gwizdala entered the game to try and send it to extras. Napa loaded the bases on a hit and two walks. Austin Fitzpatrick ended the game on a pinch-hit walk-off single to left to lift the Silverados over the Stompers 8-7. 

The Stompers play their final regular-season game at home on Monday night against the Vallejo Admirals at 6:05. 

BENCHES CLEAR IN SAN RAFAEL, STOMPERS FALL 5-3

SAN RAFAEL, Calif- The Sonoma Stompers hit the road to take on the San Rafael Pacifics for the final time in 2019. The Stompers took an early lead, but sloppy defense and a San Rafael rally was too much for the Stompers to come back from. 

Nick Gotta led off the ballgame with a walk against San Rafael starter Justin Watland (3-0) and Jacob Barfield followed with a base hit. With one out, Brent Gillespie singled through the right side to bring Gotta home and give the Stompers a 1-0 lead. 

After a quick 2 outs in the top of the 2nd inning, Nick Kern and Rayson Romero worked back-to-back walks and Gotta doubled to double the lead, 2-0.

In the bottom of the 3rd inning Markus Montelongo and Chuck Rocker singled for San Rafael to put 2 runners on. Raul Navarro laid a bunt down and reached on a throwing error by Stomper starter Pat Barnett (1-2). On the error the first San Rafael run came in. A walk to Peguero loaded the bases with nobody out for Axel Johnson. On 1-2, Johnson hit a TaylorMade double play ball to Romero at shortstop when the ball hit the lip of the grass at the last second, bouncing over Romero for a 2-run single, giving San Rafael a 3-2 lead.  The fin al run of the inning scored on a Mike Annone sacrifice fly as the Pacifics took a 4-2 lead. 

Daniel Molinari led off the top of the 4thinning with his 4th home run of the season to right-center field, cutting the deficit to just 4-3.

San Rafael got their final run in the bottom of the 5th inning when Navarro hit a low line drive to center which Rob DeAngelis dove for but didn’t catch as it rolled all the way to the wall in center, allowing Navarro to come all the way around for an inside-the-park home run, making it 5-3. 

The Stompers got 3 scoreless innings from the bullpen but the damage was done as they fell to San Rafael 5-3.

The Stompers are off Saturday but are in  Napa on Sunday at 1:05.

STOMPERS COME FROM BEHIND LATE TO BEAT NAPA 6-4

NAPA, Calif- The Sonoma Stompers began their 3-game weekend road trip in Napa on Thursday night. After trailing for the entire game, one big inning flipped the game around as the Stompers went on to beat the Silverados on a late-inning comeback. 

Napa took an early lead against Vijay Patel (7-1) in the bottom of the 1st inning when Dakota Conners tripled into left-center and scored on a wild pitch to give Napa a 1-0 lead. 

The Stompers offense got going against Napa starter Tre Hobbs (3-2) in the top of the 3rd inning. Rayson Romero got the first Stomper hit of the game with a single to center. He then stole second to put himself in scoring position. With 2 outs, Jacob Barfield lined a base hit to left, tying the game 1-1. 

Napa’s Conner’s led off the bottom of the 4th inning with a solo home run off Patel, giving Napa a 2-1 lead. A pair of RBI doubles by Ultsch and Montelongo extended the lead for the Silverados to 4-1. 

In the top of the 5th inning, after back-to-back strikeouts against Hobbs, the Stompers did it again with 2 outs. Nick Gotta singled and Barfield walked to put men at first and second. Pedro Barrios then singled to bring Gotta in, cutting the lead to 4-2. Brent Gillespie then doubled down the right field line to bring Barfield in as the lead was cut to just 4-3. 

Patel went 4 2/3 innings while allowing 4 runs on 5 hits and striking out 5. 

The Stompers finally knocked Hobbs out of the game after 5 1/3 innings, and took it to the Napa bullpen. 

In the top of the 8th inning,Miles Williams led off the inning reaching on an error by Montelongo at first base, and that was all it took to get the offense rolling. Rob DeAngelis singled and Bronson Butcher walked to load the bases with nobody out. Romero singled home 2 on a base hit to left to give the Stompers their first lead, 5-4. With 2 outs, Gotta singled home a run, extending the lead 6-4.

Jacob Cox (3-0) tossed a 1-2-3 8th, striking out a pair and Lenny Gwizdala collected his first professional save as he got out of a bases loaded jam in the 9th. 

The Stompers are 44-17 as they head to second place San Rafael for a Friday night showdown against a foe that the Stompers could possibly face in the Championship Series. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30. 

VALLEJO HOMERS PAST STOMPERS, 6-2

SONOMA, Calif- The Sonoma Stompers took on the Vallejo Admirals on Wednesday night and fell to the Admirals for the first time this season at home.

Ethan Gibbons (3-4) started on the mound for the second consecutive time against Vallejo. Last time out he turned in a quality start. This time, Vallejo hit him around a bit.

O’Koyae Dickson, former LA Dodger, took Gibbons deep in the first inning to give the Admirals an early 1-0 lead. 

In the bottom of the 2nd inning, Miles Williams reached against Jesse Remington (5-4) on a broken bat grounder to shortstop that Matt Eureste could not handle, resulting in an error. Williams stole second and with 2 outs scored on Rob DeAngelis’ base hit, tying the game 1-1.

The Stompers took the lead in the bottom of the 3rd inning when Daniel Molinari homered off Remington, his 3rd, to lead off the inning and putting the Stompers up 2-1. 

Vallejo answered back quickly in the top of the 4th inning. with 1 out, Tillman Pugh launched a solo home run, his 8th, tying the ballgame 2-2. Derke walked and Files knocked a base hit to right-center, setting the table for Ryan Cooper who drive Derke in with a hit to give Vallejo a 3-2 lead. Chevy Clarke followed with a hit, extending the lead 4-2. 

Nick Akins Sr hit his league-leading 20th bomb of the year with 1 out in the top of the 5th inning, growing the lead 5-2. 

In the top of the 6th, Cooper reached on an error and later scored on a sacrifice fly by Clarke, making the score 6-2, where it stayed. 

The Stompers are on the road to finish out the weekend but are home Monday night at 6:05 against the Vallejo Admirals to finish out the regular season. 

STOMPERS SCORE 7 UNANSWERED RUNS TO COME FROM BEHIND AND BEAT SALINA 8-4

SONOMA, Calif- The Sonoma Stompers hosted the Salina Stockade for the final time in 2019 on Tuesday night. The Stompers trailed early but for the second straight game, a grand slam put them ahead in the middle innings.

Konner Arnold (5-5) took the mound for Zack Pace’s Stompers but he struggled throughout his start. Cody Bishop walked on 4 pitches against Arnold to open the ballgame and later scored on an RBI single by Cosimo Cannella to give Salina an early 1-0 lead. 

The lead extended in the top of the 2nd inning on a Kyle Ulanday 2-run home run, his 2nd, off the scoreboard in left center to give the Stockade a 3-0 lead. 

The Stompers offense finally got on the board against Salina lefty Ben Herrick (3-5) in the bottom of the 4th inning. Rob DeAngelis reached on an error by Rodriguez at first base on a ground ball that kicked into foul territory, allowing DeAngelis to go to second. With 1 out,Miles Williams and Pedro Barrios worked back-to-back walks to load the bases. With 2 outs, Rayson Romero walked to drive in a run and put the Stompers on the board 3-1. 

Salina got one back on an RBI double by Ryan Rodriguez to make it 4-1, knocking Arnold out of the game after just 4 innings in which he allowed 4 runs on 11 hits and 4 walks with just 1 strikeout. 

Marshall Shill (1-0) came into the game with a runner at second and nobody out and struck out the side. 

In the bottom of the 5th inning, the Stompers finally figured Herrick out. Nick Gotta led off the inning with a single and Jacob Barfield was hit by a pitch to put 2 runners on. Rob DeAngelis then looped a base hit down threw left field line to score Gotta and make it a 2-run game, 4-2.Chris Kwitzer worked a walk to load the bases for Williams to swung at the first pitch and launched a grand slam into the trees in left field, giving the Stompers their first lead of the game 6-4. With still nobody out, Barrios banged a single to left field before Herrick induced back-to-back strikeouts. With 2 outs now, Matt Hibbert walked to put men on first and second. Gotta, hitting for the second time in the inning, singled again to drive in Barrios but Bishop booted the ball in center, allowing Hibbert to score all the way from first, extending the lead 8-4. 

Jacob Cox (3-0) pitched the 6th, allowing one hit, one walk and he struck out the side. 

Spencer Backstrom came on to pitch for the Stompers in the top of the 7th, walking a pair and striking out a pair to stand a couple of runners. 

Lenny Gwizdala tossed a clean 8th, striking out a batter and giving way for Ryan Richardson (2-0) who did allow a hit but stranded the runner at third as he collected a pair of strikeouts as well as the Stompers come from behind to beat Salina 8-4.

The Stompers are home again on Wednesday night against the Vallejo Admirals at 6:05. 

STOMPERS ANNIHILATE RUN RECORD IN 30-5 WIN OVER NAPA

SONOMA, Calif- The Sonoma Stompers set the single-game run record on August 4th against Salina in a 21-8 victory. They blew past that record on Saturday night in a 30-5 obliteration of the Napa Silverados, setting the new record in a game which many had never seen a score of its kind.

Nick Barnese (7-1) took the mound for the Stompers, trying to tie teammate Vijay Patel and Vallejo’s Dakota Freese for most wins in the Pacific Association.

Napa got to Barnese in the top of the 2nd inning when Nick Ultsch led off the inning with a double and later scored on Toni’s RBI hit. 2 more runs came in on Willie Salas’ 2-run single to give Napa an early 3-0 lead. 

The Stompers got on the board in the bottom of the 3rd inning against Napa starter Eric Gleese (1-1). With 1 out, Rayson Romero walked and Matt Hibbert singled. Nick Gotta drew a walk to load the bases and a wild pitch brought Romero home to make it 3-1. Jacob Barfield then walked to load the bases and with Chris Kwitzer at the plate another wild pitch brought Hibbert home to tighten the score 3-2. With runners at 2nd and 3rd now, Kwitzer unloaded on a 1-0 pitch to center for a 2-run triple, giving the Stompers a 4-3 lead. Kwitzer then scored on Brent Gillespie’s sacrifice fly to cap off a 5-run 3rd inning, giving the Stompers a 5-3 lead.

The offense was just getting started for the Stompers. In the bottom of the 5th inning Gotta led off the inning with a base hit. After 2 quick outs, Gillespie drove Gotta home with a single into right field, upping the lead 6-3. Pedro Barrios walked and Nick Kern was hit by a pitch to load the bases. On 3-2, Bronson Butcher launched a grand slam off the light standard in left-center field, blowing the game wide open 10-3. 

The Napa bullpen took over after Gleese went just 4 2/3 innings and allowed 9 runs on 4 hits.

In the bottom of the 6th inning the slaughtering continued. After 2 quick outs again, Kwitzer walked and Gillespie launched a tape-measure homer to right-center to bring the lead to 12-3. Barrios then collected a single and Kern joined the party with a 2-run blast into the trees in left field to bring the score to 14-3. 

The Stompers put together their 3rd, 5-run inning in the bottom of the 7th inning. Back-to-back-to-back walks opened the inning to Romero, Hibbert and Gotta to load the bases for Barfield who singled home a run making it 15-3. Kwitzer then drove in 2 with a single and it was 17-3. With 2 outs Barrios knocked in one more to make it 18-3 and another run scored on an error as the Stompers led 19-3 after 7 innings. 

Napa scored 2 more in the top of the 8th inning on an Ultsch home run off Jacob Cox (3-0) to cut into the lead 19-5. 

The Stompers put together their biggest inning of the season in the bottom of the 8th when they scored 11 times on 10 hits and sent 17 batters to the plate. The inning started with a flyout. Hibbert then walked and Gotta followed with a walk. Barfield then snapped the old record of 21 runs with a 3-run blast to left to set a new record and give the Stompers a 22-5 lead. Kwitzer singled and Daniel Molinari walked as he pinch-hit for Gillespie. A balk moved them both up 90 feet and Barrios grounded out for the 2nd out to make it 23-5. Kern walked to put men at the corners and Butcher singled home a run as it was now 24-5. Romero singled to right to make it 25-5. They would not stop hitting as Hibbert singled to bring the score to 26-5. Gotta cleared the bases with a 2-run double to right-center, upping the lead to 28-5. RBI singles by Kwitzer and Molinari gave the Stompers an even 30, the most runs ever scored in the Pacific Association as the Stompers walked all over Napa, 30-5.

The Stompers are home Tuesday night against the Salina Stockade for the final time in 2019 at 6:05. 

STOMPERS HOMER 4 TIMES IN 10-7 LOSS TO NAPA

SONOMA, Calif- The Sonoma Stompers had to play from behind on Friday night. They got help from 4 solo home runs but couldn’t quite complete the comeback at they fell to Napa 10-7.

Pat Barnett (1-1) started for the Stompers and he got hit around early and often. Napa took advantage of a pair of walks and with 1 out Nick Ultsch hit a 3-run homer to right-center field to put Napa on the board first. A pair of singles by Toni and Fitzpatrick drove in another run to make it 4-0 Napa after 1 half inning. 

The Stompers got on the board in the bottom of the 2nd inning when Brent Gillespie hit a majestic solo homer to right field, cutting into the lead 4-1.

Napa put up 5 more runs in the top of the 3rd inning. Toni’s RBI hit, Fitzpatrick’s 2-run double and Bethancourt’s 2-run homer extended Napa’s lead over the Stompers 9-1. 

In the bottom of the 3rd inning the Stompers got to Napa starter Gabe Katich (1-1). With 2 outs, Jacob Barfield, Chris Kwitzer and Gillespie went back-to-back-to-back to bring the Stompers closer, 9-4. 

Barnett lasted just 5 innings in his 2nd start, allowing 9 runs, 6 earned, on 8 hits while striking out 4. 

Willie Ethington came in the game in the top of the 6th inning and allowed a pair of walks and a pair of hits to bring in the 10th Napa run to bring the score to 10-4. 

Ehtington was yanked for Marshall Shill who induced a double play to get out of the inning. 

The Stompers inched closer in the bottom of the 6th inning getting RBI hits from Rayson Romero and Barfield as they put up 3 runs to make it 10-7. 

The Stompers fell 10-7 to Napa but look for vengeance on Saturday night against the Silverados at 6:05. 

STOMPERS WALK 13 TIMES IN 11-4 WIN OVER SECOND PLACE VALLEJO

VALLEJO, Calif- The Sonoma Stompers traveled to Vallejo for the final time in 2019 and walked away with a big road victory, 11-4. 

The Stompers showed their discipline at the plate against Vallejo right-hander Carl Brice (3-5) who struggled to find the strike zone on Thursday night. With 1 out in the top of the 2nd inning, Miles Williams, Rob DeAngelis, and Nick Kern all walked to load the bases. With Daniel Molinari at the plate, Williams scored on a wild pitch to open the scoring and give the Stompers a 1-0 lead. Molinari then walked to load the bases, the 4thstraight walk allowed by Brice. Matt Hibbert hit a sacrifice fly to center to score DeAngelis and give the Stompers a 2-0 lead. With 2 outs, Jacob Barfield singled up the middle to score 2, the first hit of the game for the Stompers, extending the lead 4-0. 

Vallejo got on the board in the bottom of the 3rd inning on a solo home run making the score 4-1. The first hit for Vallejo against Ethan Gibbons (3-3) who got the start Thursday night.

In the top of the 5th inning, Barfield walked for the second time to open the inning before Chris Kwitzer launched his 7th home run of the season, this one to straight away center field, extending the lead to 6-1. 

The Stompers got one more in the top of the 6th inning. Molinari doubled to open the inning and scored on an RBI single by Barfield to extend the lead 7-1. 

The Admirals scored twice more in the bottom half of the 6th inning on RBI hits from Matt Eureste and Chris Fornaci to bring the Admirals closer, 7-3. 

Gibbons was well on his way to a win in a quality start on Thursday night, tossing 6 innings while allowing 3 runs on 4 hits while striking out 5. 

Hibbert added another RBI with a single to score Kern in the top of the 7th inning to put the Stompers lead at 8-3. 

Vallejo tacked on a run in the bottom of the 7th inning on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Montrell Marshall to score Gomez, cutting into the lead 8-4 with Willie Ethington (4-0) in the ballgame for the 7th. 

The Stompers added some insurance in the top of the 9th inning. after 2 quick outs, Molinari walked and Hibbert hit a flare single down the right field line. Pedro Barrios added to the lead with a monster 3-run blast to dead-center field, extending the lead 11-4. 

The Stompers got shutdown innings out of the pen from newest Stomper Spencer Backstrom in the 8th and a 1-2-3 9th by Lenny Gwizdala as the Stompers go on to win 11-4.