Stompers End First Half With Sweep Of Admirals

Taylor Eads smacks his first hit as a professional to give Sonoma the lead in Thursday's 10-4 win over Vallejo.

James Toy III/Sonoma Stompers

Tim Livingston, Director of Broadcasting & Media Relations 

The final game of the first half for the Sonoma Stompers was not all that dissimilar to the games that helped them to a first half championship. Great starting pitching, an offense that is tough from top to bottom, and defense that makes the tough plays look easy.

In Thursday's 10-4 win over Vallejo (13-26), Sonoma (26-11) finished off the first half with their fifth consecutive win and their 13th victory over the Admirals in their 15 matchups this season. They had 10 hits and had yet another inning where they batted around, taking advantage of eight walks on the evening.

The star of the show for the Stompers was their newest addition. Taylor Eads, who was 0-for-5 in his first two games as a professional, finally got a batting average in a big way on Thursday. He went 2-for-4 with 3 RBIs and a walk, including the go-ahead RBI single in the fourth and a two-run ground rule double in the fifth, which is where the big inning occurred.

Five runs came in during that crucial inning, as the Stompers offense got to David Dinelli (3-3) the third time through the order and chased him from the game. Coming into the game, Dinelli had a 6.91 FIP when batters faced him for the third time, nearly three runs higher than the second time through and almost five runs higher than his initial go-around the order.

With it also being the fourth time Sonoma has seen Dinelli this year, the Stompers picked the right time to strike against the former Astros farmhand, and took advantage of Dinelli's wildness to keep the inning going, as three free passes kept the baserunners plentiful.

After giving up the double to Eads, Dinelli was not happy with his performance and ended up getting ejected from the game because of his actions as he left the field and entered the dugout. It was a night full of frustrations for the Admirals, as all three outfielders were pulled from the game at some point.

Brad Young was pulled after striking out in the second while both Jaylen Harris and Robert Brown were pulled in the ninth after a miscommunication on a ball in shallow right-center field. That left the Admirals without a position player, meaning starting pitchers Devon Ramirez and Demetrius Banks took over in center and right field respectively, with Ramirez showing off his athleticism on a sliding catch in the ninth.

On the pitching side of the ledger for Sonoma, it was more of the same for Mike Jackson, Jr. (4-0), who continued his stellar run as a starter with five great innings where he gave up only two runs on four hits with eight strikeouts.

He gave way to Ryusuke Kikusawa, who had issues with his control at times, but finished off the final four innings by allowing two runs on one hit with four walks and five strikeouts. It was the first four-inning save of the season for Sonoma and the fourth time this season a pitcher earned a three-plus inning save.

At the plate, besides Eads' terrific performance, both Matt Hibbert and Mark Hurley had two-hit nights, with Hurley extending his hitting streak to 13 games. It was the sixth multi-hit game over that time period for Hurley, who is now hitting .324/.392/.465 on the year for the Stompers.

The Stompers ended the first half with a run differential of +72, far and away the best in the Pacific Association. As a team, they hit .293/.385/.421, leading the league in all three triple slash categories. They had a 124 wRC+, 20 points higher than San Rafael's 104. They led the league in ERA at 4.02 (although they were behind San Rafael in FIP at 3.74; the Pacifics were at 3.38) and had a WHIP of 1.32.

When you put it all together with a defense that has allowed the fewest runs in the Pacific Association, the Stompers have remained a well-oiled machine even with some changes to personnel, which is expected at the turning point of the season. New manager Takashi Miyoshi is 5-0, including the two games in which he was filling in as manager before taking on the interim job this past Tuesday.

Eads looks like he might be looking more comfortable at the plate with three games under his belt while the sensational Santos Saldivar has one of the most impressive single performances in relief that anyone has seen in the Pacific Association this season. Yuki Yasuda has stepped in at shortstop and looked great, making two tremendous plays defensively Thursday night while also  hitting .298 with a .799 OPS.

TJ Gavlik has started getting regular playing time, as well, and he responded with a couple of home runs during this past series against Vallejo while playing good defense at second base. All in all, Sonoma has made changes that even a championship-winning team needs to make in order to hold off the teams charging behind them, as both San Rafael and Pittsburg look like teams that will give the Stompers trouble come the second half.

That half begins tomorrow night as all four teams will have a clean slate to work from. Sonoma is guaranteed a spot in the Pacific Association championship on August 31, but if they win the second half, they will win the outright championship.

The Stompers will take on the Admirals yet again on Friday, with the two teams beginning the second half with a three game series at Wilson Park. The first pitch is set for 7:05 p.m with the radio broadcast beginning at 6:45 on StompersBaseball.com and the TuneIn app.

BOX SCORE

Three Hits, Three Homers, 3-1 Victory For The Stompers

Paul Hvozdovic's first start was a success, as the lefty threw six scoreless innings to help Sonoma to a 3-1 win.

James Toy III/Sonoma Stompers

Tim Livingston, Director of Broadcasting & Media Relations

It only took three hits, but with three solo home runs and a great all-around pitching performance from a trio of hurlers, the Sonoma Stompers won their fourth straight game against the Vallejo Admirals with a 3-1 victory on Wednesday.

Sonoma (25-11) didn't have much success from a quantity standpoint against Vallejo starter Tony Guerra (0-1), but the two hits they did get against him ended up being quality shots. In a scoreless game in the fourth inning, TJ Gavlik ended an eight-pitch at-bat with a solo homer to right, his second in as many games, to get the scoring going. Two batters later, Danny Baptista did the same to center field to make it 2-0.

Sonoma's third homer came in the seventh inning from Mark Hurley, who extended his hitting streak to 11 games and gave Sonoma a 3-0 lead. It was a 3-0 lead because of some tremendous work from Paul Hvozdovic, who started his first game of 2015 and looked stellar doing it.

Vallejo (13-25) couldn't get any hard contact against the left-hander from Shepherd University, who limited the Admirals to only four hits in his six innings of work. He struck four and hit a batter while facing only three batters over the minimum.

He then gave way to a newcomer for Sonoma in Santos Saldivar. The rookie from Southern University was signed earlier in the day and was the first man out of the bullpen as the Stompers looked to see what pieces they had heading into the second half of the season that begins on Friday.

If Wednesday night's outing was any indication, then the front office trio of Theo Fightmaster, Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller might have found a cornerstone piece for their second half run. Saldivar was basically untouchable in his two perfect innings of relief, as he struck out five of the six batters he faced with a fastball near 90 and an offspeed assortment that left Admirals hitters baffled.

Even with the one run Vallejo got after a P.J. Phillips double and a throwing error by Yuki Yasuda, it was apparent just how dominant the Stompers were Wednesday night. They limited mistakes both on the hill and defensively and even had two successful shifts, as both Joshua Wong and Brad Young bounced out to Gavlik at second base when he was positioned to the left side of the bag expecting each hitter to pull the ball. Gavlik barely had to move on both groundouts.

With Takashi Miyoshi at the helm, the Stompers are now 4-0 and have outscored the Admirals by 17 runs, pushing their league-leading run differential to +67 on the season. Part of it is that the Admirals have been the worst team in the Pacific Association so far, but the Stompers have also been quick to take advantage of any opportunity presented to them, which has been many against Vallejo.

Sonoma will continue their six game stretch at Wilson Park with the first half finale on Thursday evening. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. with the radio broadcast beginning at 6:50 p.m. on StompersBaseball.com and the TuneIn app.

BOX SCORE

Stompers Use Early Offense, Clutch Pitching Late To Hold Off Admirals, 8-6

Matt Hibbert hits his first home run of the season to lead off Tuesday's game against Vallejo.

James Toy III/Sonoma Stompers

Tim Livingston, Director of Broadcasting & Media Relations

Using eight runs in the first three innings and an impressive relief performance from their best pitcher in Sean Conroy, the Sonoma Stompers were able to hold off a steady charge from the Vallejo Admirals on Tuesday night, winning the opener of their six game stretch on the road at Wilson Park, 8-6.

There's an argument to be made either way for Conroy. In his two starts this season, he has been stellar. Whether it was his three-hit shutout with 11 strikeouts on June 25 or his eight inning performance on July 5, both outings showed that Conroy had the stuff to be amongst the best starters in the Pacific Association.

On the other hand, if the Stompers need someone to end the game, Conroy has been absolutely fantastic. Nine appearances out of the bullpen, no earned runs. Five saves, too, if you're into that. Tie everything up and it's been a year of sub-1.00 ERA baseball from a guy who might have the most unhittable pitch in the Pacific Association with his sidearming slider.

The Stompers turned to Conroy in a time of great need, going to their best pitcher with the game on the line in the eighth. One out, two on, Sonoma (24-11) up two. Conroy's first batter, former Stomper Glenn Walker, bounced a high chop to first base, but as it fell into Daniel Baptista's glove, his quick turn to get the speedy shortstop caused the ball to slip out, and the bases were loaded.

Facing Vallejo's (13-24) best hitter in P.J. Phillips, Conroy won a battle with the veteran and struck him out swinging on a fastball down and in. The next batter was the Admirals' newest addition in Lydell Moseby, a 6'6" 230 lb. behemoth of a first baseman who signed with the team earlier that day. Going through another long at-bat, Conroy froze Moseby with his patented slider to end the inning and Vallejo's greatest threat to a lead they never caught up to.

With three games to fiddle with things that might be worthwhile for the second half that starts on Friday, there were many new faces in new places. Taylor Eads was making his first professional start in right field after signing with the team on Monday.

Even Mike Jackson, Jr. found his way back to the bullpen, the spot where he was a premier reliever for the Stompers in 2014. As dominant as he's been as a starter, he looked just as good in the sixth, striking out two in a perfect frame. Starter Jeff Conley (2-1) was back with the team after some time on the inactive list and looked good in his five innings, with some bad batted ball luck and defensive issues causing his outing to have a few more bumps in the road than it should have.

And in his first game officially as the team's interim manager after taking over for the departed Fehlandt Lentini, Takashi Miyoshi was successful in his debut as the first Japanese-born manager in the history of American professional baseball.

At the plate, Sonoma's offense was as sensational as it has been all season. Matt Hibbert got Sonoma's best opening inning of the year started with a home run to left on the second pitch of the game against Nick Flory (2-3), who didn't find his comfort zone on the hill until it was far too late.

In that first inning, all nine batters came to the plate and the team scored six times, piggybacking their quick starts against Vallejo in their previous two victories at home this past weekend, which include the team's 13-4 first half-clinching win on Sunday. One more run came across in the second on a Danny Baptista RBI single, with the team's final run coming on a solo homer by T.J. Gavlik in the third, his second of the season.

Hibbert went 3-for-4 to lead the Stompers offense and Mark Hurley went 2-for-4 with a double, extending his hitting streak to 10 games and giving him a sixth multi-hit game over that stretch. Outside of Baptista, all seven of the other Stompers starters scored at least once, with Hibbert scoring twice.

Sonoma will play game two of their series with the Vallejo Admirals on Wednesday evening with the first pitch set for 7:05 p.m. No probable starter for the game has been named. Fans can enjoy the game on the radio at StompersBaseball.com or via the TuneIn app beginning at 6:50 p.m.

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Local Hero Lentini Traded To Bridgeport Of Atlantic League; Miyoshi Named Interim Manager

Fehlandt Lentini is heading back to the Atlantic League after a trade with Bridgeport.

James Toy III/Sonoma Stompers

Tim Livingston, Director of Broadcasting & Media Relations

The Sonoma Stompers Professional Baseball Club agreed to a trade that would send player-manager Fehlandt Lentini to the Bridgeport Bluefish of the Atlantic League. Lentini will return to the league that he played in for two seasons in 2012 with the Lancaster Barnstormers and in 2014 with the Long Island Ducks. With the Ducks last season, Lentini hit .290/.328/.391 with six homers and 63 RBIs while going 46-for-46 in stolen base attempts.

With Sonoma in 2015, Lentini hit .289/.345/.409 with five home runs and 26 RBIs along with 26 runs scored. He was 6-for-7 in stolen base opportunities.

"Feh brought a ton of passion and energy to this team," said general manager Theo Fightmaster. "We wouldn't have had the success we had without his selfless contributions as a player and a manager. This was not an easy decision, but in our belief was the right one for the organization."

With Lentini's departure, bench coach and third base coach Takashi Miyoshi will take over as interim manager. Miyoshi is in his sixth season as a coach in the American independent leagues, having previously spent the last two seasons with the Grand Prairie Airhogs of the American Association. He has previously managed in the preparatory California Winter League, but with his appointment, he is now the first Japanese-born manager in the history of American professional baseball.

“Yoshi has been a fantastic addition to the clubhouse, the dugout and the organization,” Fightmaster said. “He’s prepared for this challenge and we have the upmost confidence that he can lead this team to continued success.”

Stompers Clinch First Half Title With 13-4 Romp Over Vallejo

The Stompers celebrate their first half championship after a 13-4 victory over the Vallejo Admirals on Sunday.

James Toy III/Sonoma Stompers

Tim Livingston, Director of Broadcasting & Media Relations

When they (literally) write the book on this season, Sunday afternoon will make for a great highlight at the halfway point.

Behind seven spectacular innings from Gregory Paulino and 17 hits from the offense, the Sonoma Stompers clinched the Pacific Association's first half championship on Sunday by soundly defeating the Vallejo Admirals, 13-4 at Arnold Field to finish off a wire-to-wire run to the title.

Beginning with the team's fantastic 11-1 run, the word was out about how good the Stompers could be in 2015. Hot starts by basically everyone in the order and a strong string of pitching performances propped up the Stompers to the point where there were questions about how long the Stompers run would go with so few losses.

Yet, as many of those who are keen to the statistical world knew, regression was coming. No team would be that good for that long, and when it did come, it hit the Stompers relatively strongly. Yet even with that regression, they stayed above that hallowed .500 mark through Sunday, going 12-10 on their way to the championship.

It was a tremendous way to cap off the first half for Sonoma (23-11), as after the final out was made, the Stompers did their normal post-game handshake line before tearing into the champagne to celebrate their title. After a tough week against the San Rafael Pacifics, Sonoma bounced back in a big way by taking three of five from Pittsburg and Vallejo.

Sunday's game was a lot like Saturday's: A fantastic starting pitching performance coupled with an offensive onslaught against the opposing team's starter early on. This time, it was Paulino (3-3), who followed up his four-hit shutout against Vallejo at home on June 24 with another masterful performance, going seven scoreless and allowing only three hits while striking out nine.

While Paulino has had his ups and downs this season, when he's on, there are few pitchers in the league that can match up with his stuff. Today, his pitches were working and he was getting a lot of weak contact, as he only allowed only three singles on groundballs through the infield.

Offensively for Sonoma, the entire lineup got into it, as all nine batters got on base and five players had multi-hit games. Yuki Yasuda, Mark Hurley, Danny Baptista and TJ Gavlik all had three hits with Isaac Wenrich chipping in two hits of his own. Hurley now has a nine-game hit streak that includes four multi-hit games. Yasuda, Baptista and Gavlik each scored twice, as did Matt Hibbert and Andrew Parker.

The team scored twice in the first inning and got four in the fifth to chase Devon Ramirez (1-4), but the big inning came in the seventh, as Sonoma scored six times and sent 11 hitters to the plate to put an exclamation point on Sunday's coronation of a game.

With the win, Sonoma clinches at least a spot in the Pacific Association championship game on August 31, but if the team wins the second half, as well, they will be named outright champions.

Sonoma's celebration will continue this evening, but they'll be back to work on Tuesday when they begin six straight road games at Wilson Park in Vallejo, where they'll face this same Admirals team at 7 p.m. Monday's makeup game between the Stompers and the San Rafael Pacifics at Albert Park has been cancelled.

With 9-2 Victory, Stompers One Win From First Half Title

Eric Schwieger's terrific pitching performance has put the Stompers one win away from their first ever half championship.

James Toy III/Sonoma Stompers

Tim Livingston, Director of Broadcasting & Media Relations

Eric Schwieger threw eight superb innings and both Joel Carranza and Danny Baptista homered to put the Sonoma Stompers one win away from the Pacific Association first half title, as Sonoma defeated the Vallejo Admirals on Saturday evening, 9-2. Thanks to Pittsburg's come-from-behind victory against San Rafael in extra innings coupled with the Stompers win, Sonoma's magic number is at 1, meaning that they can clinch the title at home tomorrow against Vallejo in the series finale.

Schwieger (4-1) was dealing from the get-go and really made only one mistake all night long: a two-run homer to Brad Young in the seventh. Outside of that, he was downright nasty, primarily using a fastball with pinpoint accuracy to keep Vallejo (13-22) off-balance and only able to make weak contact.

Of the 24 outs Schwieger ended up getting, he struck out nine and only got one flyout. The other 14 were all via groundouts, which the Stompers league-best defense gobbled up with aplomb. He allowed only five hits and didn't walk a single battle. Schwieger's control was the best it has been all season, as he only went to one three-ball count.

Offensively, Sonoma (22-11) got hot from the start and didn't let up. Joel Carranza highlighted the first with a two-run shot off Demitrius Banks (1-3), his sixth of the season and his first since June 20, a game where Carranza helped start Sonoma's comeback win against the Admirals at Wilson Park.

There would be no comeback necessary on Saturday, as the Stompers continued with two more in the second (which featured Baptista's solo shot, his fourth of the year) and a four-run fifth inning that featured a two-run single from Kristian Gayday.

It was more than enough for Schwieger, who threw 74 of his 95 pitches for strikes (78%) and didn't allow a runner past second base save the home run to Young. Paul Hvozdovic finished up in the ninth inning to put Sonoma only one win away from history.

On Sunday afternoon, the Stompers will look to clinch the team's first-ever half-championship, as they will send Gregory Paulino to the mound to finish off the team's weekend series with the Admirals. First pitch is set for 1:05 p.m.

Tickets begin at just $4 and can be purchased online at StompersBaseball.com or at the Stompers Fan Shop, located at 234 W. Napa St. in beautiful downtown Sonoma. Tickets can also be purchased at the gates at Arnold Field before any home game. For more information, call the Stompers at (707) 938-7277 or email the team at info@stompersbaseball.com.

BOX SCORE

Late Error Costs Stompers In Series Opener With Admirals

Matt Hibbert had two hits and two runs driven in on Friday night for the Stompers.

James Toy III/Sonoma Stompers

Tim Livingston, Director of Broadcasting & Media Relations

Taking advantage of a throwing error by Erik Gonsalves with the bases loaded in the top of the eighth, the Vallejo Admirals batted around in the inning and scored five unanswered runs to take their series opener with the Sonoma Stompers at Arnold Field, 8-3.

With the score 3-3 coming into the eighth, the inning became an issue right away after a leadoff walk to Brad Young, who had walked only five times coming into Friday night's game for Vallejo (13-21). From there, Tyler Nordgren reached when his sacrifice bunt attempt was placed perfectly on the right side of the infield, and after Tony Uyeno's successful sacrifice bunt, the wheels fell off for Gonsalves (3-2).

He then hit #9 hitter Aaron Brill with a pitch to load the bases, and then Gadiel Baez singled through the hole on the right side to a drawn-in infield to give Vallejo the lead, 4-3. It was there that the error with Gonsalves occurred, where on a comebacker, he turned to second instinctively thinking of getting a double play instead of coming home, and then when he turned to throw home, he threw it into the dirt and it got past catcher Isaac Wenrich. Two runs came home on the throwing error to give Vallejo a 6-3 lead.

Jon Rand, Jr. came in to try and stop the bleeding, but P.J. Phillips singled to left field on the first pitch he saw to plate Baez and Jaylen Harris, putting the game away for the Admirals, who won for just the second time in 2015 against Sonoma. (21-11).

Matt Walker was able to keep the Admirals off balance for 6 1/3 innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on seven hits and three walks. Offensively for Sonoma, Kristian Gayday hit his second home run of the season and Matt Hibbert added two hits and two RBIs. Mark Hurley scored two times, as well.

The Stompers held the lead twice in the early going thanks to Hibbert's RBI double and Gayday's home run, but Vallejo matched them with runs thanks to a sacrifice fly by former Stomper Glenn Walker and the home run by Young. After giving up the lead to Vallejo in the seventh on a wild pitch, Sonoma never led again.

Sonoma did get some good news after the game, as San Rafael lost at Pittsburg, 4-1, which cut the Stompers Magic Number to clinch the Pacific Association first half championship to three. Sonoma and San Rafael play one more time before the first half ends this upcoming Monday at Albert Park.

The two teams will face off again on Saturday in game two of their three game set, with the first pitch set for 5:05 p.m. Sonoma will be taking donations for Lego Africa that evening, as fans who bring a 1-gallon Ziploc bag full of used Lego pieces to the park will receive a free general admission ticket. The donations will benefit hundreds of students in need at schools across Africa who use them to build cognitive skills.

Tickets begin at just $4 and can be purchased online at StompersBaseball.com or at the Stompers Fan Shop, located at 234 W. Napa St. in beautiful downtown Sonoma. Tickets can also be purchased at the gates at Arnold Field before any home game. For more information, call the Stompers at (707) 938-7277 or email the team at info@stompersbaseball.com.

BOX SCORE

Thursday's Game Postponed Due To Inclement Weather

Sonoma's game against Pittsburg tonight has been postponed. No makeup date has been announced.

James Toy III/Sonoma Stompers

Thursday night's regularly scheduled series finale at Arnold Field between the Pittsburg Diamonds and the Sonoma Stompers has been postponed due to inclement weather. No makeup date has been announced yet. Fans who purchased tickets for tonight's game will have them honored for the makeup date once it is announced.

The Stompers will be back on the field tomorrow night to open up a three game series against the Vallejo Admirals. First pitch is set for 6:05 p.m. with the gates opening at 5 p.m. for our normal Stompers Hour pre-game promotion.

Tickets begin at just $4 and can be purchased online at StompersBaseball.com or at the Stompers Fan Shop, located at 234 W. Napa St. in beautiful downtown Sonoma. Tickets can also be purchased at the gates at Arnold Field before any home game. For more information, call the Stompers at (707) 938-7277 or email the team at info@stompersbaseball.com.

Hurley Hits First Walkoff HR In Team History, Stompers Magic Number Now At 5

Mark Hurley watches his game-winning two-run homer leave Arnold Field Wednesday night. It was the first walk-off homer in the history of the Stompers franchise.

James Toy III/Sonoma Stompers

Stomp-Off: Video of Hurley's Homer

Tim Livingston, Director of Broadcasting & Media Relations

You could feel the weight being lifted off the collective backs of the Sonoma Stompers when the ball left Mark Hurley's bat in the final inning. Losses in seven out of their last nine games. Four straight losses, including three at home after winning their first 10 games in 2015 at Arnold Field.

All it took was one swing to put all that behind them.

Hurley's two-run homer off Pittsburg starter Jheyson Manzueta in the bottom of the ninth relieved all of Sonoma's recent ailments and gave the Stompers a 4-3 win over the Diamonds, breaking Pittsburg's six-game win streak and their own four-game losing streak.

Sonoma (21-10) took the lead in the seventh on a two-out, two-run double by Gered Mochizuki on a deep fly ball to center that Kahou Gaspar couldn't corral, giving Sonoma their first lead of the game.

But Pittsburg (14-18) came right back in the top of the eighth. Facing Jerome Godsey, Mike Taylor smashed a lined shot deep and out to left for his 10th home run to tie the game at 2-2. Godsey faced more trouble later in the inning as he loaded the bases and allowed Leo Rodriguez to hit a sacrifice fly to right, giving Pittsburg a 3-2 lead.

Yet the Stompers found something in the late innings that hadn't been there recently. San Rafael came back with two runs in the eighth to pull away from Sonoma back on June 29. The Pacifics had another late-game rally in Sunday's finale of a day/night doubleheader, and Tuesday night, the Diamonds pulled away with six in the ninth inning to spoil a great start by Sean Conroy.

It was the third #StompOff victory of the season for Sonoma, with Hurley being involved in the first one back on June 3 when he raced home on a wild pitch against the very same Pittsburg team in a 10-9, come-from-behind win to complete a sweep in the first series of 2015.

At the plate, Hurley had two hits, two runs scored, and those two RBIs on the game-winning home run. Isaac Wenrich also added two hits to raise his batting average to .301. T.J. Gavlik and Fehlandt Lentini each scored runs, as well.

Mike Jackson, Jr. pitched terrifically but ended up with a no-decision, as the Pittsburgh native had his best start yet as a Stomper. He went seven strong innings allowing six hits, one walk and only one earned run while striking out a season-high nine. The nine strikeouts are the third most by a Stompers starter this season. He now has a 3.16 ERA on the season and has struck out 32 batters in 37 innings.

Ryusuke Kikusawa (1-0) picked up the win in relief, as he retired the last four batters he faced in order to keep Sonoma within one. He entered the game with runners at second and third with two outs in the eighth and got Brandon Williams to fly out to end the Diamonds scoring run.

For Sonoma, it was the type of win they had been seeking for quite some time. The previously mentioned slides had brought them back closer to the pack in the Pacific Association with both San Rafael and Pittsburg playing well enough where the Stompers would have to work harder than ever to clinch their first half title.

With Wednesday's victory, the Stompers are still on pace to clinch the first half championship by week's end, and with some help from San Rafael like they got today, where the Pacifics gave up a lead with two outs in the ninth to reeling Vallejo, the hometown faithful at Arnold Field will have something to cheer about before the homestand ends on Sunday.

For now, the Stompers will enjoy the spoils before getting back to work Thursday evening in the rubber match of their three game series with the Diamonds. First pitch is set for 6:05 p.m. and Sonoma's Opening Night starter, Matt Walker, is the probable starter.

Tickets begin at just $4 and can be purchased online at StompersBaseball.com or at the Stompers Fan Shop, located at 234 W. Napa St. in beautiful downtown Sonoma. Tickets can also be purchased at the gates at Arnold Field before any home game. For more information, call the Stompers at (707) 938-7277 or email the team at info@stompersbaseball.com.

BOX SCORE

Stompers Lose 7-5 As They Give Up Lead In Final Inning

Sean Conroy was great for eight innings on Tuesday night, striking out six in his eight innings of work. He gave up his only two earned runs of the season in the ninth, taking 26 innings to do so.

James Toy III/Sonoma Stompers

Tim Livingston, Director of Broadcasting & Media Relations

For the first month of the season, Arnold Field was almost like a safe haven for the Sonoma Stompers. They went undefeated in 10 games to start their home schedule, creating the best homefield advantage in the Pacific Association.

Now, the Stompers have lost their last three games at home, and their loss on Tuesday is the most stinging loss of the year so far. With Sean Conroy, the team's best pitcher, starting the ninth with only 80 pitches thrown, an error and a bloop single led to a nightmare of an inning for the Stompers, as Pittsburg scored six runs to come back and defeat Sonoma, 7-5.

Sonoma (20-10) has now lost four straight games for the first time in 2015 and are 9-9 in their last 18 after starting the season 11-1. Conroy (2-1) was pitching fantastically for eight innings, allowing only one run on a double by Andrew Rubalcava, but an error by Danny Baptista at third base started off what became the game-winning rally for the visitors.

Pittsburg (14-17) batted around in the inning, as after chasing Conroy after the bloop single, Paul Hvozdovic came in to try and finish the game off. However, the lefty couldn't get the left-handed hitting Rubalcava, who used the butcher boy play against a drawn in infield to single home the game's tying run.

After that, the Diamonds scored four more times against Hvozdovic to turn a 3-1 deficit into a 7-3 lead, quieting the crowd and turning what could have been a big night for Conroy and the Stompers into a disaster that had to be cleaned up quickly if Sonoma had any thoughts about halting their losing streak.

They had their shot, too, as Diamonds closer Steve Chapter had a bout of wildness in the bottom of the ninth. With two outs and the bases already loaded, Chapter hit Yuki Yasuda with a pitch and then walked T.J Gavlik to make it 7-5 and bring Matt Hibbert to the plate, who leads the team in both wOBA and wRC+, two of the more important advanced metrics to gauge offensive performance.

But it wasn't Chapter that Hibbert would face. He instead took on the hard-throwing Clint Manzo, and Manzo took on the challenge and won it, striking out Hibbert to end the game and Sonoma's two-out, last gasp of a rally.

Outside of Kristian Gayday's 0-for-4 night, all of Sonoma's other eight starters had at least one hit, with Fehlandt Lentini, Joel Carranza and Isaac Wenrich all having two-hit games.

For Conroy, it was a tough loss to take. Over his eight innings of work, he was responsible for four runs, but only two were earned. They are the first earned runs Conroy has allowed in 2015. He allowed six hits and walked one while striking out six. However, he's still amongst the best pitchers in the Pacific Association, carrying a 0.69 ERA and a 1.50 FIP in 26 innings of work.

With San Rafael taking care of Vallejo on Tuesday night, the Stompers lead in the Pacific Association standings has been cut to three, and their magic number is still at 7 for the first half championship.

The Stompers will try again tomorrow with Mike Jackson, Jr. taking the hill to try and stop the Stompers four-game skid, as they will host the Diamonds in game two of a three game series. First pitch is set for 6:05 p.m., with the gates at Arnold Field opening at 5 p.m.

Tickets begin at just $4 and can be purchased online at StompersBaseball.com or at the Stompers Fan Shop, located at 234 W. Napa St. in beautiful downtown Sonoma. Tickets can also be purchased at the gates at Arnold Field before any home game. For more information, call the Stompers at (707) 938-7277 or email the team at info@stompersbaseball.com.

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