By Jordan Kimball, Beat Writer
The Stompers led the California Collegiate League with 282 runs, powering their way to a CCL North title, 32 wins and their first-ever CCL Championship appearance.
Gabriel Tapia took two strikes from Oaks reliever Matthew Queen. He then whiffed at Queen’s final offering. Conejo stormed the mound. Sonoma watched in defeat. The Stompers quickly raced out to right field, where manager Zack Pace often holds his postgame meetings. As soon as it was over, the team posed for pictures. Smiles all around.
It’s no secret second-place often stings the most, but for Sonoma, it signaled a step in the right direction. The Stompers were an underdog all season. The Merchants put up a fight, and with Sonoma’s immense roster turnover, the Blues and Crawdads had a chance to capitalize on the lack of continuity and make a push for the top spot. But the Stompers stood tall.
For nearly two months, Sonoma sat atop the CCL North. Nic Sebastiani’s two-run walk-off home run in the CCL North title game powered the Stompers to their first-ever CCL Championship. The Oaks were a challenge, but for eight innings in Game 1, Sonoma competed. It led 9-4, and while its collapse in the ninth may have foreshadowed Saturday’s elimination game, the Stompers’ lows were only footnotes in an otherwise standout season.
Here are the numbers that defined Sonoma’s (32-19, 25-15 CCL) 2025 campaign:
282 runs
In 2024, the Stompers were in a nearly identical spot as this year. They were one of the three teams that qualified for the CCL playoffs and, after defeating SLO in the divisional semifinals, faced Walnut Creek in the title game. Sound familiar? Yet what limited Sonoma from making its mark was its inability to score runs.
This time around, the Stompers rewrote the narrative; Offensive production was the least of their worries. Across its 40 games, Sonoma scored 282 runs, the highest mark in the CCL. It’s a 101-run increase from 2024, and ultimately, it propelled the Stompers toward stronger results. They averaged 7.05 runs per game and plated seven-plus runs 18 times.
Whether by small or large margins, Sonoma scored runs when needed. In early June, its offense jump-started by scoring 14 runs in two straight games against the Seagulls. It had an 18-run showing a month later, again against San Francisco, and defeated the Legends in a 17-13 four-hour battle. The Stompers’ bats caught fire on multiple occasions, and without those bursts, their success wouldn’t have been possible.
23 home runs
Pace has emphasized keeping the line moving, regularly saying Sonoma is a small-ball organization. The statistics say otherwise. When the regular season wrapped up, the Stompers had hit a CCL-best 23 home runs. Their most significant one came against the Crawdads in the playoffs, though, their 24th and final homer of the season.
Sebastiani entered the batter’s box with composure. Pace and his staff had already relayed the message to him to swing away, and that was all he needed. In the 10th inning, with Max Handron on second base down one run, Sebastiani lifted a hanging curveball over the left-field fence. Arnold Field erupted, and Sonoma’s dugout streamed onto the field.
Sebastiani’s long ball may have been the most memorable, but there were lots of contributors to the power surge. Leading the way was two-spot athlete Brady Shannon. His 6-foot-2, 225-pound frame spurred his five home runs ahead of his departure following the CCL Showcase Game. Taking his place on the leaderboard was Handron, who ended the season with a team-high six home runs and a team-best .439 batting average. Sebastiani had five, Paul Lizzul hit three and four other players tallied at least one.
109 hit-by-pitches
The phrase “free passes” was often repeated between Pace and his staff. Sonoma’s margins in most categories were slim, but hit-by-pitches stood out clearly. The Stompers finished with 109 hit-by-pitches, well ahead of the Merchants, who ranked second with 78.
Trent Keys, who was hit a league-high 18 times, also scored a team-high 30 runs. Anthony Scheppler followed with 13 hit-by-pitches, while Sebastiani and Colton Boardman were each plunked 11 times. In total, 21 of Sonoma’s 27 players were hit at least once over the season. Those free passes played a key role in boosting the Stompers’ offense.
3.30 earned run average
On the mound, the Stompers’ arms were occasionally shaky, but their 3.30 ERA still ranked second in the CCL. Their bullpen found common ground with the starters, as down the stretch, Pace was able to rely on two or three arms per game instead of burning through four or five.
Devon Laguinto paced Sonoma’s rotation. The Delta College transfer led the team with 32.2 innings pitched, showcasing his dominance with a complete game shutout against the Legends on July 1 — the CCL’s only complete game this season.
In terms of ERA, Jayden Harper led starters at 0.50 through four outings. Shawn McBroom — who opened Wednesday’s semifinal matchup with the Crawdads — displayed a 2.12 ERA while Harun Pelja’s, Nick Santivanez’s and David Howard’s all sat below four.
Out of the bullpen, flamethrower Luke Duncan completed all eight of his outings without allowing an earned run. Justin Jones posted a 0.60 ERA, and Heeryun Han finished at 1.80. Three additional Stompers relievers ended the season with ERAs under 3.00, giving Sonoma steady support in high-pressure innings.