By Elakai Anela, Beat Writer
Catcher Andrew Bonfigli points to the Stompers dugout after a base hit in the fourth inning Friday. Bonfigli started his first game since June 14 and went 1 for 2 with 3 walks — he also threw out a base stealer in the seventh inning behind the plate. Photo Courtesy of Karsen Kadien / Sonoma Stompers
Sonoma, Calif. — The Sonoma Stompers offense drew a season-high 13 walks and provided nine hits Friday in an 11-7 victory against the Menlo Park Legends at Arnold Field. The Stompers improved to 7-7 in the California Collegiate League while the Legends fell to 2-9 in league play.
Despite committing six errors, the Stompers won their second contest in a row. Sonoma manager Zack Pace said postgame all that matters was his team “got it done.”
“I thought there was a little bit of bad luck [with the errors]. Some bad hops, the infield didn't play well,” Pace said. “But our guys grinded through it and found a way to end on top which is always good.”
Both teams worked with a tight strike zone. Sonoma was the team who took advantage of it.
“I thought it was a really good zone tonight,” Pace said. “Our batters read the game and saw that their arms weren't filling it up.”
Menlo Park didn’t record a hit in the first inning, yet it scored the opening run of the contest. Infielder Ryder Kelly (UC Davis) drew a four-pitch walk and stole both second and third base before he scored on a fielder’s-choice.
The Stompers' battery of starting pitcher left-hander Logan Figlar and catcher Andrew Bonfigli allowed three stolen bases in the first. After the opening inning, the Legends didn’t record another stolen base the rest of the contest and were caught stealing one time in the seventh inning.
Pace said that Bonfigli’s adjustment of staying in the box instead of coming out early while throwing over the course of the game was “fun to see.”
The Stompers manager also said that his staff “worked” with Figlar after his start in the bullpen to “quicken” his leg kick, so teams aren’t able to read his motion moving forward when stealing.
“You just can’t have that slow kick if you’re not going to be a read guy,” Pace said. “He needs to get out there and get more reps.”
Figlar ultimately pitched two innings and allowed one earned run. The Santa Rosa, Calif. native walked and struck out two in 34 pitches.
The Legends scored another run in the second after Figlar overthrew Garcia at first base, allowing the leadoff runner to advance to second. The runner moved to third on a balk by Figlar and scored on a groundout.
After a scoreless first, Sonoma drove in three runs to take a 3-1 lead during the bottom of the inning.
Outfielder Nic Sebastiani (Santa Rosa Junior College) singled to bring home infielder Garcia. Then, on a 3-2 count with bases loaded, infielder Misael Uriepero (Youngstown State) gave Sonoma the lead with atwo-run single.
The Stompers added to their lead by driving in three runs over the next two innings. However, Sonoma left the bases loaded in the fourth and went 3 for 11 with runners in scoring position through the first four frames.
Menlo Park rallied in the middle innings, tying the game after scoring three runs in the fifth and two in the sixth. Two runs were unearned while the other two were charged to Sonoma’s Mason Cortez (San Joaquin Delta College) who allowed an RBI double and single.
In his third appearance, Cortez was “stretched out” according to Pace. The 5-foot-11 right-hander went three innings and allowed six hits in his longest outing of the year.
The next time the Stompers batted, they regained the lead. Two wild pitches and an RBI groundout by pinch-hitter Mateo Heredia (Cal State Northridge) made it 9-7.
Sonoma didn’t relinquish the lead from that point on. It added two runs in the seventh on another RBI groundout, this time by outfielder Wesley Bass (Georgia State), and a single by Garcia into center field.
The Stompers pitching staff shut down the Legends over the final three innings, allowing only three baserunners. Right-handed pitchers Jadyn Ramos and Devon Laguinto closed the contest.
The Stompers look to take the series and extend their win streak to three games Saturday versus the Legends. First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 p.m.