By Jordan Kimball, Beat Writer
With four players making their Stompers debut, Sonoma’s offense looked out of sync in its 9-1 loss to the Crawdads.
Akers. Han. Sebastiani. Libby. Boardman. Malton. Scheppler. Keys. Duncan. Harper on the mound. The Seo brothers in relief.
Stompers manager Zack Pace finalized his lineup minutes before first pitch on June 3 in the team’s CCL opener versus the Blues. He had dozens of names at his disposal: a Second-Team All-Atlantic Sun selection, an up-and-coming middle infielder headed to Louisiana Tech, a second baseman who appeared in 35 games as a freshman at Cal State Northridge. On the bench sat a 6-foot-2 Greek God-esque outfielder with the raw power of a Major League product.
Pace now prays for continuity. For consistency. In a time when Sonoma’s fighting for first place in the CCL North, the names of the past are what the Stompers wish were their future. Landon Akers, McCann Libby, Colton Boardman and Brady Shannon, among others, are a memory. Pace now writes “Sielken,” “Olimpia,” “Medin,” “Tapia,” players making their Sonoma debut with six games to go.
But the mentality doesn’t change. And while Pace and his staff continue to form the right group to build a championship-level team, the focus remains on maximizing what they have, game by game, lineup by lineup.
“I got a lot of (players) right now that I’m trying to evaluate and see what the best plan is for us as a team. Trying to get used to who they are as a hitter and as a person and just go from there,” Pace said of what needs to be done with the newcomers.
Late additions can sometimes bring a spark to a struggling squad, but Sonoma isn’t in that position. With four players making their summer debut, the Stompers (26-16, 21-14 CCL) looked out of sync as they fell 9-1 to the Crawdads Saturday. Lifted by just five hits while surrendering 11 walks and 10 hits, Sonoma didn’t stand a chance against Nebraska’s Aiden White on the mound and Walnut Creek’s bolstered lineup.
“We want to get some swings off if we can,” Pace said postgame. “We gotta get on base when nobody’s on base and get them in when they are on base. Unfortunately, we just didn’t do a good job with that today.”
On June 25 and July 9, White shoved against the Stompers. He allowed just one earned run across nine innings and, entering Saturday, held a 0.79 ERA. With the Cornhuskers, the southpaw pitched once. In the CCL, he’s been a workhorse. White’s ERA ranks third in the league. He’s struck out 28 hitters while walking 14 and gives up just over one base runner per inning (1.15).
Sonoma’s bats looked completely overmatched. Throwing mid to high 80s, White’s stuff threw off hitter after hitter. The Stompers threatened in the first with runners in scoring position, but Paul Lizzul and Kyle Olimpia grounded out to end the frame.
That was one of Sonoma’s lone opportunities. The following inning, Anthony Scheppler was hit by a pitch. Esteban Sepulveda singled to move him to third, and Trent Keys softly grounded out to second base to plate Scheppler. The offense was moving in the right direction. It was just the second inning, and the Stompers had scored 10-plus runs in three straight games.
But White wasn’t messing around. After Max Handron singled to open the third, Xander Sielken flew out and Lizzul grounded into a 6-4-3 double play. While Sonoma’s offense searched for answers, the Crawdads kept offering reminders.
They immediately punished Harun Pelja, with Zach Justice blasting a two-run home run into the left field trees to open the scoring in the first. Each inning, Pelja ran into a jam. He gave up a leadoff double to Joe Coupland in the second. Coupland became one of two runners in the frame left on base.
The third was Pace’s last straw with Pelja. He hit Cam Calvillo and Joey Donnelly singled. Pelja looked back at first, firing over a pickoff which skipped off of Lizzul’s glove; Calvillo scored on the play.
“I thought he had some really stress innings,” Pace said of Pelja’s performance. “All three of them. It was time for him to come out.”
That was just the way things were going. Olimpia recorded his first knock as a Stomper in the fourth but was stranded after Scheppler, Sepulveda and Keys each struck out in order. Meanwhile, Nico DeFazio doubled to score Kam Taylor.
Though Pelja was relieved, Sonoma’s bullpen wasn’t any better. Micah Marquez allowed his first earned run of the season. Nick Poulus’ ERA ballooned to 6.23 after he gave up two runs in 1.1 innings. Luke Duncan recorded three Ks to halt the Stompers’ errant crew, but Jaxen Rowland surrendered three more in an inning of work to cap an already dominant showing by Walnut Creek as Sonoma remained deflated.
When White was pulled in the seventh, the Stompers were trailing 6-1. A five-run comeback isn’t unheard of. It would’ve been a storybook close with a nearly new squad. But the ending felt all too familiar.
Gabriel Tapia, replacing Kieran Baker, struck out. Cam Hegamin, now in the leadoff spot, was retired on strikes, too. Sielken was put away in the eighth. Same with Olimpia. The new guys couldn’t find a rhythm.
As Sonoma walked twice and singled in the ninth, maybe a late comeback was to come after all. Instead, Tapia grounded into a 1-2-3 double play with the bases loaded. Hegamin struck out to shut the door.
With the Blues’ 6-4 win over the Merchants, Alameda is slipping out of the playoff picture while SLO rises to the top. Now tied with Sonoma for first place, the Blues will watch as the Stompers face the third-place Crawdads one last time on Sunday.
“It’s just about approaching each day just like we do all year long and not changing anything. No panic button,” Pace said. “Trying not to get too high or too low. We’ll be in a decent spot.”