Press Releases

SONOMA STOMPERS ANNOUNCE KEY & PEEL NIGHT

Legendary duo to appear together at Peoples Home Equity Ballpark at Arnold Field

Sonoma, Calif.  -- Fans will want to get out to the ballpark on Tuesday, August 8, when the Sonoma Stompers present Key and Peel Night at Peoples Home Equity Ballpark at Arnold Field.

This duo, famous for unlocking life’s zest, will be the featured guests of honor as the Stompers host the visiting Vallejo Admirals. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. and tickets for the event, as well as all other single game tickets, go on sale April 22, at the Stompers Fan Fest, taking place the Fan Shop at 234 West Napa Street in Sonoma.

That night the first 200 fans in attendance will receive a commemorative token from Key and Peel Night, presented by co-sponsors, Friedman’s Home Improvement and Sonoma Market that the team hopes will slice through the outer layer of the game’s fruitful core.

“I’m excited. I hope I’m pitching that night,” said Stompers starting pitcher J-Wan Espinosa. “Key has opened a lot of doors for me, both personally and professionally. And Peel really got my juices flowing a lot of times.”

The promotion is just one of many in a soon-to-be released bountiful harvest of a promotional calendar for the team.

“It’s a key game,” according to the Stompers Assistant General Manager J-Yen Ramos. “You really want to make sure to appeal to everyone. Not to mention it’s the last month of the season and you really have to show your pith.”

Join the Stompers for their Fan Fest on Apr. 22 at the Fan Shop on 234 West Napa Street in Sonoma and will feature new merchandise and the sale of single game tickets. Full season tickets, mini-plans and partial season tickets are on sale on our website, www.stompersbaseball.com, or at the Stompers Fan Shop. For questions and information regarding tickets, please email jen@stompersbaseball.com, or call 707.938.7277.

STOMPERS BRING BACK JACKSON, JR. AND CARRANZA FOR 2017

The two Stompers veterans are returning as player-coaches for their fourth season.

Sonoma, Calif.--The Sonoma Stompers Professional Baseball Club, presented by Virginia Dare Winery, welcome back two very familiar faces to help defend their 2016 title in their fourth season. Designated hitter Joel Carranza and pitcher Mike Jackson Jr. have both agreed to terms and will join the Stompers for their forth seasons with the club as player-coaches.  Both players have been a part of the Stompers since the team’s inaugural season, and were contributors on the 2016 Pacific Association Champion squad.

Carranza had one of the best individual seasons in franchise history in 2016. The Pembroke Pines, Florida native headlined a dominate offensive attack on his way to his first Most Valuable Player Award in the Pacific Association. He led the league in batting average at .316, and was second in home runs with 15. It was a long time coming for Carranza who is the franchise leader in home runs with 44 in three seasons.

Carranza spent part of the 2015, and 2016 season with the Trois-Rivieres Aigles of the Canadian-American Association before returning to Sonoma on Jun 8, 2016. Carranza is looking forward to once again calling Sonoma home as the Stompers defend their title.

“Sonoma has always felt like a home away from home to me,” Carranza said. “Since day one everyone in town and the Sonoma Stompers organization has supported me and made me feel like family. With such a great support system between the front office, my host family and all the fans, it makes coming back to Sonoma an easy decision. I'm looking forward to the season, seeing the team again and doing everything I can to help this organization win another championship.”

The veteran right-hander Jackson Jr. had one of the best seasons of his professional career in his third season in Sonoma as the ace of the pitching staff. The Pittsburgh product lead the Pacific Association in wins (8-2) and was second in ERA at 2.84. Jackson Jr. had one of the most dominant stretches of any pitchers in the league in the second half of last season.

Jackson Jr. dominated the league going 5-0 with a 1.49 ERA in his last five starts of the season. Jackson Jr. finished the season with the Long Island Ducks of the Atlantic League after being called up on August 15. Despite missing the last few weeks of the regular season, Jackson Jr. still finished second in the Pitcher of the Year voting behind San Rafael’s Patrick Conroy. The Sonoma fan favorite will return to mound in Sonoma with hopes of building upon what he accomplished last season with the club.

Team President and General Manager Theo Fightmaster was thrilled to bring back two important pieces of the 2016 team back to Sonoma.

"It's hard to describe just how important these guys are to our organization," Fightmaster said. "They've both been here since Day One. They're integral to what we've accomplished, and what we hope to accomplish this season."

Sonoma begin its season on Jun. 2 against the Pittsburg Diamonds. Season Tickets for the upcoming 2017 season at People’s Home Equity Ballpark at Arnold Field are available now on stompersbaseball.com. The Stompers’ home opener is on Jun. 13 against the Vallejo Admirals.

Full Season tickets, mini-plans and partial season tickets are on sale on our website, www.stompersbaseball.com, or at the Stompers Fan Shop, located at 234 West Napa Street in Sonoma. Group events and Group Tickets are also available now. Please email jen@stompersbaseball.com, or call 707.938.7277 for questions and more information.

KRAVE JERKY & SONOMA BRANDS FOUNDER JON SEBASTIANI ACQUIRES SONOMA STOMPERS BASEBALL ORGANIZATION

Kelsey Minigan and Jon Sebastiani pose in their new Stompers Baseball caps in front of the Sonoma Brands office on East Napa Street in downtown Sonoma, Calif. Photo courtesy Robbi Pengelly/Sonoma Index-Tribune.

Kelsey Minigan and Jon Sebastiani pose in their new Stompers Baseball caps in front of the Sonoma Brands office on East Napa Street in downtown Sonoma, Calif. Photo courtesy Robbi Pengelly/Sonoma Index-Tribune.

Sonoma-Based Entrepreneur to Give Back to Community Through Local Baseball Team

Sonoma, Calif. – Jon Sebastiani, accomplished entrepreneur and Founder of KRAVE Jerky and Sonoma Brands (ZÜPA NOMA, SmashMallow, DANG Foods), announces today the acquisition of the Sonoma Stompers Professional Baseball Club. The Sonoma Stompers play as a member of the Pacific Association Professional Baseball Clubs and were 2016 Pacific Association Champions. Sebastiani’s latest entrepreneurial endeavor reaffirms his commitment to the Sonoma region and the preservation of the area’s strong tourism, family values and traditions.

“I am very proud to call Sonoma my hometown; a region so rich is culture and tradition,” said Jon Sebastiani. “I am thrilled to continue the growth of the Sonoma Stompers organization by elevating fan experiences and making the club an even larger part of the fabric of our community.”

Read the exclusive story in the Sonoma Index-Tribune.

Founded in 2014, the Sonoma Stompers have garnered local and national support by providing a fun, community atmosphere that is pitch perfect. On the national level, the Stompers have received attention for the team’s 2016 homerun additions of female athletes Kelsie Whitmore, whose Stompers memorabilia was recently enshrined into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, and Stacy Piagno. These additions made the Stompers the first co-ed professional baseball team since the 1950’s to have more than one female player on the roster simultaneously.

"I'm excited to see the Stompers remain under local ownership, and I look forward to working together to continue to promote women in baseball," says Francis Ford Coppola, whose Virginia Dare Winery is a premier sponsor of the Sonoma Stompers.  It was Francis Coppola who originally approached the Stompers and brought forth the effort to promote the recruitment, development and advancement of women in baseball. 

"I'm very much looking forward to continuing this amazing journey with the Stompers,” said Theo Fightmaster, General Manager of the Sonoma Stompers.  “We've been part of historic moments in baseball, we've sent players to major league organizations and we’ve won a lot of games. I'm grateful for everything Eric and Lani Gullotta, and Derek Rampone did to help usher in this great era of Stompers Baseball, and I'm excited to begin working with Jon in writing the next chapter of baseball in Sonoma." 

The Sonoma Stompers play ball at Peoples Home Equity Ballpark at Arnold Field, located at 234 W. Napa Street, Sonoma, CA 95476. The 1,400-seat stadium is in the heart of Sonoma, just off the historic plaza. The Stompers hit the field for the 2017 season beginning in May. For more information on the Sonoma Stompers, please visit www.stompersbaseball.com.

About Jon Sebastiani
Jon Sebastiani is a graduate of Santa Clara University with a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and holds a dual MBA from the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley and Columbia University. His expertise in establishing and growing successful food brands has been cultivated through years of managing operations in previous positions, as managing partner of Wines.com, President of the premier California winery destination Viansa Winery, and most recently leading the jerky renaissance as Founder of KRAVE Jerky. In 2016, following the acquisition of KRAVE Jerky by The Hershey Company, Sebastiani launched Sonoma Brands. Sonoma Brands is a one-of-a-kind consumer products incubator and venture fund, set to revitalize stagnant industry categories with innovation. Sonoma Brands has since invested in Dang Foods and has launched two brands under its incubator umbrella; ZÜPA NOMA and SmashMallow. For more information on Jon and Sonoma Brands, please visit www.sonomabrands.com. 

About Virginia Dare Winery
Virginia Dare Winery, American wines since 1835, pays tribute to America’s winegrowing heritage. The existence of the 400-year-old scuppernong “Mother Vine,” a variety of muscadine, growing on Roanoke Island, North Carolina is intertwined with the story of one of the first English settlements in the New World, which later mysteriously disappeared without a trace, leaving nothing but a spellbinding story of mythical and mysterious characters – each of which grace the labels of our wines. Crafted with grapes from the finest viticulture regions in California, our wines are rich with characteristics befitting an American legend: Pure. Natural. Distinctive. Learn more by visiting Virginia Dare Winery located at 22281 Chianti Road, Geyserville, CA 95441.