By Jordan Kimball
Adam Alharbi flew out to centerfield to open the seventh inning, bringing Anthony Scheppler to the plate. Scheppler’s at-bat looked to be ordinary. The former Ohio State infielder toed the back of the batter’s box. He dug his front foot into the dirt three times. Scheppler then eyed pitcher Logan Wenzel as “Rock That Body” by the Black Eyed Peas played in the background.
The first pitch from Wenzel was a slider away that Scheppler chased. A fastball in the dirt followed. Scheppler then swung at a pitch above the zone, falling in the count, 1-2. But Wenzel’s next offering was clubbed into right field, sinking fast before finally touching the grass.
The Arnold Field crowd erupted not just because Scheppler displayed an impressive piece of hitting. Instead, because it marked the Stompers’ first hit of the contest.
Scheppler’s knock became one of Sonoma’s (4-5, 1-3 CCL) only bright spots as it was shut out 9-0 against the San Francisco Seagulls Friday. San Francisco’s pitchers held the Stompers to just two hits, both of which came down eight runs. Meanwhile, Sonoma struggled with control on the mound, allowing eight hits while walking eight batters.
“We gotta fill up the zone, and we need to find a way to get on base,” Stompers manager Zack Pace said postgame. “Just gotta find a way to hit the ball better, get better pitches and be on time.”
Leading up to the seventh inning, Stomps fans could feel the minimal energy. They often tried to revive their team, chanting “Let’s go Stompers” and engaging in mid-inning activities over the PA system. But nothing was working. The momentum was nonexistent, a recurring theme over Sonoma’s last few games.
After defeating the San Luis Obispo Blues 7-1 on Tuesday to open league play, the Stompers had scored just six runs in three games. Each matchup? A defeat. They fell 4-3 to SLO on Wednesday, followed by a 4-3 loss to the Alameda Merchants on Thursday. Now, a 9-0 thrashing by the Seagulls.
But besides Sonoma struggling in each of those games, a deeper trend emerged. The Stompers couldn’t get the “big hit,” something heavily discussed following Thursday’s back-and-forth battle.
This time, though, no hit could be found.
After David Howard allowed two base runners on in the first inning, he settled in, escaping the jam without surrendering a run. But in return, the Stompers grounded out to shortstop Jaylen Hodges three times, going down before Howard could take much of a rest.
Still, he came out ready to go in the second inning, retiring SF’s first two batters before Ben Resnick walked. A single into right field had Resnick rounding second base, but an accurate throw from Kieran Baker caught Resnick before he touched third safely.
The potential run-saving throw should’ve put some fire in Sonoma’s dugout. Instead, they threatened but fell into a double play in the bottom half to quickly approach the third. There, each team was scoreless, but the Stompers put a runner in scoring position for the second time in as many innings. An Esteban Sepulveda pop-up to first base erased the rally.
The fourth is when things got interesting. After dominance from Howard in the opening frames, he ran into trouble when Pranav Sundar walked on five pitches. Ethan Johnson followed suit before Howard made a fielding error to load the bases with no outs.
A wild pitch scored the Seagulls’ first run before a groundout back to Howard scored another. Then, Resnick redeemed himself after the previous miscue on the basepaths, knocking a double into right field to score Mac Galvin. Resnick’s at-bat would be Howard’s last.
Patrick Richardson replaced Howard, but San Francisco kept swinging. On Richardson’s first pitch, he hit Finn Whalen and a single by leadoff hitter Alan Ramirez scored Resnick. A wild double play ended the inning, yet somehow, two runs scored on the play.
Richardson allowed two more runs in the fifth, signaling the point of Scheppler and Trent Keys’ entrances into the game.
“We wanted to see if somebody else could turn it around,” Pace said. “Change the momentum of the ballgame. Try to find a way to hit the ball.”
Unfortunately, a 1-2-3 inning was the result in the fifth and sixth innings. But while Sonoma sulked at the plate, Braden Guentz — Richardson’s replacement — starred on the rubber. He went 3.2 innings, allowing just one hit.
His strong outing was overshadowed by the Stompers’ struggles offensively, but the appearance was an encouraging one for Sonoma going forward.
“He’s a great arm for us,” Pace said. “I think he’s going to be great all year, and he did an excellent job to stop the bleeding today.”
Baker finally strung together the Stompers’ second and final hit to lead off the eighth inning. But after reaching third base, three straight outs silenced the threat. Sonoma was retired in order in the ninth, ending a difficult loss that was its third straight.
The Stompers will hit the road for the first time this campaign with a rematch against the Seagulls Saturday in San Bruno at 6:05 p.m.