The Stompers received 22 free passes in Sunday’s matchup with the Legends, which played a key role in their 13-6 win.
By Jordan Kimball, Beat Writer
Sunday’s game against the Legends featured no shortage of storylines. Anthony Scheppler tallied a hit for the first time in 17 at-bats, Nic Sebastiani notched his first multi-home run game of the year, Harun Pelja pitched five one-hit innings and the Stompers received 22 free passes.
Sonoma manager Zack Pace has said it all. He knows Scheppler has struggled but commends him for his hard work pregame and away from Arnold Field. Pace thinks Scheppler — who’s currently in the transfer portal — has the potential to help several Division I programs.
Pace has emphasized the revival of Sebastiani’s play at the plate after a strong end to last season. Sebastiani was one of the younger players on last year’s squad, but he’s emerged as a leader this time around. After a rough start to the summer, Sebastiani’s found his groove, raising his batting average to a season-high .275 while carrying an .891 OPS.
The Stompers’ pitching staff has been one of their greatest assets, and Pelja added to the success on Sunday. He’s now surrendered an earned run in just one start this season — Sonoma’s 6-5 win over Menlo Park on June 13 — and he has a sub-one ERA.
To wrap up the storylines, Pace hasn’t been shy about his team’s pitch selection and ability to have quality at-bats. As the most hit team in the CCL this year, Pace said, the Stompers continue to earn free base runners. Against the Legends, they walked 14 times, alongside eight hit-by-pitches.
When these pieces mix, good things are expected to happen. On Sunday, they did. Sonoma (17-11, 14-9 CCL) played a complete baseball game to defeat the Legends 13-6. The win marks the Stompers’ sixth in seven matchups between the two teams so far.
“(We’ve) just been doing our quality Stompers baseball,” Pace said postgame. “Filling up the zone on the mound and playing good defense and taking our quality at-bats. It’s about putting those three together.”
Just doing those three would be an understatement to describe Sonoma’s win over Menlo Park. Everything they’ve been doing consistently was displayed Sunday; nothing was left out.
The Stompers were the first team to score. It’s become a constant trend, and Sonoma held its own on offense all game. After a 1-2-3 first inning, Scheppler finally reached base via a hit, as previously mentioned, with an RBI double to score Sebastiani. Scheppler would score soon after when Ben Sebastiani walked, and a pitch with the bases loaded hit Colton Boardman.
The floodgates opened from there. With two outs in the third inning and the bases loaded, Esteban Sepulveda cleared the bases with a single ripped into center field. Then, the Stompers showed off their “special,” with Sepulveda coming home on a passed ball.
Holding a six-run lead looked safe, but Nathan Bunyard struggled the night before, and Sonoma had a chance to lose it. This time around, Pelja continued to shove. In the fourth, he retired Menlo Park in order. In the fifth, he did it again.
“I feel like every outing, we’re about to fight to get (Pelja) out of the game because he wants to stay in,” Pace said jokingly. “He does a really good job of getting a lot of outs and having quality outings every time he’s out there.”
As Pelja dealt, the Stompers added more runs. Sebastiani struck his first home run in the fourth, and Brady Shannon scored Tyler Schlafer on a sacrifice fly the following inning.
Then came Sonoma’s bullpen effort. Sean DeBoard, Justin Jones and Nikolas Haas struggled in their innings, each allowing two runs, but Jaden Mason and Christian Klostermann stepped in and shut the Legends down.
It was the Stompers all the way. They scored one more when Cameron Hegamin plated Heeryun Han on a sac fly in the seventh. As a bit of insurance, Sonoma scored four more runs in the eighth, with a Shannon single and Sebastiani’s second home run — a three-run shot — to give the Stompers their 11th, 12th and 13th runs.
Menlo Park applied pressure in the eighth and ninth with four of its six runs coming then. But Sonoma’s lead was too large to overcome.
“Our approach has been pretty good the last couple days. I feel like we’ve definitely been improving,” Pace said. “It was definitely nice to see our guys come through.”
The Stompers will receive their regular Monday off-day before taking on the Legends again on Monday at 5 p.m.