Stompers Avoid Sweep In Big Way With 16-7 Drubbing Of Pacifics

Gered Mochizuki got back on track with a three-hit performance on Thursday, one of four Stompers players with three hits on the evening.

James Toy III/Sonoma Stompers

Tim Livingston, Director of Broadcasting & Media Relations

It was one of the most interesting and entertaining games of the season, featuring 23 runs, a position player pitching, a new franchise record for hits in a single game by the Stompers and an ejection that Ray Serrano himself would be proud of.

On top of all that, there was a win in there somewhere for the Stompers, as Sonoma snapped a three game losing streak with a 16-7 romp over the San Rafael Pacifics at Albert Park on Thursday night.

Sonoma (19-6) had been reeling a bit after losing three straight for the first time in 2015, and with the wrong end of a sweep staring them in the face against a San Rafael (13-12) team looking to close the gap between the top two teams in the league, a win on Thursday night would keep the Pacifics at bay before the two teams head to Sonoma for another three-game series.

That's the message Sonoma seemed to carry with them from the very start against Wander Beras (1-1), who was coming off a tremendous debut with the Pacifics last week where he struck out 10 batters in only 5 1/3 innings. The hard throwing lefty was hit hard from the get go, and after a four run first inning, Sonoma decided a second one of those would do just fine.

Even after a Matt Chavez solo blast in the bottom half of the first, when San Rafael came back to the plate in the bottom half of the second, it was 8-1 and the rout was on.

The Stompers broke the franchise record for hits with 19 on the evening and were a run shy of tying that particular franchise record, as well. Gered Mochizuki, Joel Carranza, Isaac Wenrich and Mark Hurley all had three-hit nights, with Mochizuki's three hits breaking an 0-for-11 skid in the series.

Yet even with all the offense on the evening helping Sonoma to their first win of the season at Albert Park, this game will most likely be remembered for what happened in the top of the fifth inning. After Sergio Miranda grounded out to shortstop, Sonoma manager Fehlandt Lentini was arguing with the umpire about a 3-1 pitch in Miranda's at bat that was called a strike, yet looked outside to Miranda, Lentini, and many members of the Stompers dugout.

As Mochizuki stepped to the plate, Lentini was thrown out by the home plate umpire and proceeded to run out onto the field and get in the face of both umpires. He ended up kicking dirt on the home plate umpire while trying to cover up home plate and then followed that up by scooping up dirt and piling it on top of the plate.

While there's not a truly quantifiable measure for how a team responds when their manager gets ejected, the dugout at least responded as if they were behind their manager, and during the next inning, they sent 11 batters to the plate as part of a six run rally that put the game away.

Lentini's ejection almost got overshadowed by a surprise pitching appearance by longtime Pacifics outfielder Zack Pace in the eighth inning, who was trying to keep the bullpen arms fresh for four games in the next three days. The outfielder barely crossed 60 MPH on the gun, but he allowed only one hit in his two innings of work.

On the Stompers side, Jeff Conley had a rough outing, allowing seven runs in his four innings of work, but Erik Gonsalves (3-1) was there to pick him up and keep the Pacifics at bay, throwing four shutout innings in relief. He allowed five hits and walked two, but didn't run into much trouble. Sean Conroy pitched a scoreless ninth in his first appearance since his historic start a week ago on Pride Night.

The Stompers lost their first three game series of 2015, but with the win on Thursday, they are now six games up on the Pacifics with 14 to play in the first half of the season. Sonoma's magic number to clinch the first half championship is now at 9. The two teams will travel to Sonoma on Friday evening for the first of three games at Arnold Field. First pitch is set for 6:05 p.m.

Tickets are available online at StompersBaseball.com and at the Stompers Fan Shop located at 234 West Napa Street. Fans can also buy tickets at the gate beginning one hour before first pitch. For more information, call 707-938-7277 or email the Stompers at info@stompersbaseball.com

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Sonoma Loses Third Straight Game, 7-1

Fehlandt Lentini hit his fifth home run of the season on Wednesday, tying Joel Carranza for the team lead in that category.

James Toy III/Sonoma Stompers

Tim Livingston, Director of Broadcasting & Media Relations

Only two games into their weeklong series against the defending Pacific Association champion San Rafael Pacifics, the Sonoma Stompers now realize that they are in for quite the test as the first half of the 2015 season winds down.

After San Rafael came back on Tuesday night to snatch a win away from Sonoma, the Pacifics were dominant from the start, as they handed the Stompers their worst loss of 2015 on Wednesday night, 7-1.

In his first appearance since his dominant 4-hit shutout a week prior, Gregory Paulino (2-2) was hit early and hit hard. The Pacifics attacked Paulino early in the count and got two huge hits to plate three runs, with an RBI triple by David Kiriakos getting followed by an inside-the-park home run from Matt Chavez to right-center on a ball that took an odd carom off the fence and past Fehlandt Lentini.

It was more than enough for San Rafael (13-11), who got a terrific pitching performance from Max Beatty. A week after his own stellar outing against Pittsburg that ended up in a loss, Beatty came out and held the best offense in the league to only six hits. Only one hit ended up hurting him on the evening, as Lentini hit a solo homer in the third for Sonoma's (18-6) only run.

Sonoma has now lost three straight games for the first time this season and has seen their lead in the Pacific Association shrink down to five games over San Rafael. The Stompers are 0-3 at Albert Park this season and have been outscored by 11 runs in those games against the Pacifics. To put that in perspective, the Stompers are outscoring their opponents by 71 runs in the other 21 games, which includes a three game sweep over the Pacifics at Arnold Field nearly three weeks ago.

Offensively, it was another great game for Joel Carranza, who went 2-for-4 and is now 5-for-9 in the series. He has five multi-hit performances over his last eight games. Lentini's fifth homer of 2015 ties him with Carranza for the team lead.

Sonoma will have quite the test on Thursday evening as southpaw Wander Beras will make his second start of the season for San Rafael. The hard-throwing southpaw struck out 10 batters in only 5 1/3 innings during his debut against Vallejo on June 26. Sonoma will counter with their own southpaw in Jeff Conley. The 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.

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Stompers Lose Tough Game To Pacifics, 5-4

Joel Carranza continues his hot streak with his fourth multi-hit game in his last seven. He is now hitting .311/.351/.533 in 2015.

James Toy III/Sonoma Stompers

Tim Livingston, Director of Broadcasting & Media Relations

While they haven't faced much adversity so far in 2015, the Sonoma Stompers are now realizing that the rest of the Pacific Association is not going to let them run away with a first half championship.

The Pittsburg Diamonds played the Stompers very tough over the weekend, and with the Diamonds currently occupying last place, Sonoma knew that their games this week against the second place San Rafael Pacifics would be even tougher, especially with San Rafael winning each of their last three series coming in.

On Tuesday night, the Pacifics showed why they might be the biggest threat to the Stompers hold on the top spot in the league, as the heart of their order led an eighth inning rally that put San Rafael past Sonoma in the opener of the two teams' very important week, 5-4.

In the first of what would be seven games in six days, San Rafael (12-11) sent 3-4-5 hitters Matt Chavez, Maikel Jova and Jeremy Williams to the plate against Jon Rand, Jr. (1-1) in the eighth with the Pacifics down by one run. The trio went single, double, single to start off the inning, plating the tying run and putting Jova 90 feet away as the potential go-ahead run.

Rand forced a fielder's choice that kept Jova at third for the first out and gave way to Erik Gonsalves. Looking for a double play ball, Gonsalves got the ground ball, but it found the hole on the right side off the bat of Danny Gonzalez, as the single brought home Jova for what turned out to be the winning run.

Once Michael Kershner pitched his scoreless frame in the ninth for his second save of the year, Sonoma (18-5) saw their lead in the Pacific Association standings cut down to six games. Both teams have 16 games to go before the end of the first half, and the Stompers are still in control of the league by a hefty margin, but with six more games to go against San Rafael this week, a good run against their rivals from Marin would help solidify their standing.

The offense performed well in defeat with 12 hits on the evening. All but two hitters in the lineup had base hits, with Joel Carranza (3-for-4, 2B), Fehlandt Lentini (3-for-5, 2 RBI) and Matt Hibbert (2-for-4) leading the way.

On the hill, Eric Schwieger started the game and was very good over 6 2/3 innings, allowing only eight baserunners (6 H, 2 BB) and three earned runs while striking out five. He gave way to Rand in the seventh, with Rand striking out pinch-hitter Tyger Pedersen to end what was shaping up to be a big Pacifics rally in the inning.

The Stompers will be back at it tomorrow night in San Rafael for game two of their three games on the road. Gregory Paulino has the start for Sonoma in his first appearance since his four-hitter on June 24 where he tied a franchise record with 12 strikeouts against the Vallejo Admirals. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. with the radio broadcast beginning at 6:50 on StompersBaseball.com and the TuneIn app.

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Meet Sean Conroy, Pro Baseball's First Openly Gay Player

Jim Kozimor sat down with Sean Conroy to talk about his historic start with the Stompers.

Watch The Video: CSN Bay Area

Sean Conroy was live in studio Monday evening with Jim Kozimor on CSN Bay Area's Yahoo! Sports Talk Live to talk about his historic evening during the Stompers' Pride Night celebration.

The First Openly Gay Baseball Player Ever Pitched A Shutout This Week

Isaac Wenrich hugs Sean Conroy after his historic start on Pride Night.

James Toy III/Sonoma Stompers

Originally Published: Bustle

hris Tognotti, Staff Writer

June 26, 2015 will go down in American history as an enormous day for gay rights, with the Supreme Court's sweeping ruling effectively legalizing same-sex marriage in all 50 states. And just one night earlier, there was another groundbreaking story playing out on a baseball diamond in the city of Sonoma, California, just north of the Bay Area — Sean Conroy became the first openly gay baseball player ever to take the field, and followed it up with a dominant, nine-inning shutout of the Vallejo Admirals.

It's an important (and awesome, quite frankly) story, especially in the context of an America that's made such huge strides for gay rights recently. In 2011, the military's Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy was repealed 17 years after its enactment, and even before the Supreme Court sped the pace on marriage equality with their Friday ruling, the progress was stark: 35 states had legal same-sex marriage by the time it went nationwide.

And yet, within the realm of American professional sports, active out athletes are few and far between. The NBA had Jason Collins, MLS has Robbie Rogers, and for a while, it seemed like the NFL would have Michael Sam. But in baseball, there's been no such example with an active player — former Los Angeles Dodgers and Oakland Athletics outfielder Glenn Burke was reportedly out to some of his teammates in the 1970s, but not to the public.

In a press release by the Stompers, Conroy gave a short, sweet explanation for why he decided to come out.

"I’ve always played baseball because it was fun and I loved the sport. Being gay doesn’t change anything about the way I play or interact with teammates. I hope that in leading by example, more LGBT youth will feel confident to pursue their dreams, whatever those dreams may be.
Obviously, a league that boasts such relative unknowns as the Sonoma Stompers, Vallejo Admirals, and San Rafael Pacifics won't be mistaken for the brightest stage. The Stompers play in the Pacific Association of Professional Baseball Clubs, an independent professional league that exists below the talent level of the MLB-affiliated minor leagues, but above semi-pro ventures."

But a pro is a pro, and Conroy left little doubt as to his skills on Thursday night. He pitched a complete game in front of his home crowd at Sonoma's Arnold Field, shutting out the Admirals by a final score of 7-0, and a dominant 11 strikeouts.

To put it another way, if you're scripting your inspirational Hollywood film: the first-ever openly gay pro baseball player came out on his team's Pride Night, then turned in a virtuoso, nearly unblemished performance. He only allowed three hits over those nine innings — he was virtually untouchable.

Someday, perhaps soon, we'll see a Major League Baseball player come out to the world, demolishing yet another barrier in American sports. But whenever that day comes, never forget that he won't be the first pro bat-swinger or pitch-slinger to go public about who they are, because that distinction goes to Conroy. Here's hoping we'll hear about more dynamic pitching from him — and if his team's staggering 17-3 win-loss record continues, that's probably a safe bet.

Openly Gay Minor League Pitcher Sean Conroy Tosses Shutout On Pride Night

Sean Conroy warms up before his start on Thursday.

James Toy III/Sonoma Stompers

Originally Published: Outsports (SB Nation)

Jim Buzinski, Co-Founder

The set-up and ending were perfect: Sean Conroy, a 23-year-old baseball prospect with the Sonoma Stompers of the independent Pacific Association of Baseball Clubs, came out as gay prior to the team's Thursday Pride Night. He then threw a three-hit shutout with 11 strikeouts as the Stompers beat the Vallejo Admirals, 7-0, in his first start.

With his announcement, Conroy has become the first publicly gay professional baseball player, though there have been Major League Baseball players like Glenn Burke and Billy Bean who came out after retiring. The team posted this tweet after the game ended with Conroy being hugged by teammate Isaac Wenrich:

"It's not that I wanted it to go public, but I didn't care if it was open information. It's who I am," Conroy said. "I am definitely surprised that no one else has been openly gay in baseball yet.

"I've always played baseball because it was fun and I loved the sport. Being gay doesn't change anything about the way I play or interact with teammates. I hope that in leading by example, more LGBT youth will feel confident to pursue their dreams, whatever those dreams may be."

Conroy's teammates wore rainbow socks and armbands in support, but he did not.

This is such a cool way for an athlete to come out and also for how the team and its players are embracing the history. The Stompers website has a list of the news stories about Conroy and Pride Night, showing that they see it as something to celebrate and not a "distraction."

It's still a long way to go before Conroy makes a Major League Baseball roster, if he ever does. AP reports that "players live with host families during the June-to-August season, earn $650 a month on average, and supply their own cleats, batting gloves and elbow guards." But he has already made history and should serve as an inspiration to other athletes.

Seven Game Win Streak Snapped As Sonoma Loses, 9-6

Isaac Wenrich had a big weekend in Pittsburg, adding two more hits on Sunday to finish 7-for-15 over three games. He's now hitting .311/.376/.533 on the season.

James Toy III/Sonoma Stompers

Tim Livingston, Director of Broadcasting & Media Relations

The Sonoma Stompers missed out on their fifth sweep of the season as the Pittsburg Stompers kept the pressure on early and pulled away for good late in a 9-6 loss for the first-place Stompers.

Sonoma (19-4) took the lead in the fifth after an odd play, as a fly ball by Kristian Gayday was tracked down by Pittsburg (8-16) center fielder Tim Battle, but Battle up and dropped the ball instead of collecting the final out of the inning. Joel Carranza scored to tie the game and Yuki Yasuda followed with an RBI double to plate Gayday and make it 4-3.

But Matt Walker (2-1) couldn't get through the sixth, as the Diamonds put together a rally that chased the Stompers Opening Night starter from the game with two outs in the inning. Battle atoned for his error with a bases-clearing double just out of the reach of Fehlandt Lentini in center to give Pittsburg the lead for good.

Sonoma looked like they were going to really turn things around in the seventh when Daniel Baptista and Andrew Parker both hit solo shots to cut the Pittsburg lead to 7-6, but the Diamonds turned around and got those two runs back in the eighth, with Steve Chapter slamming the door shut in the ninth for his fifth save.

Gayday and Isaac Wenrich both had two hits for the Stompers, with Wenrich going 7-for-15 with three doubles over the weekend. Carranza went 0-for-3 before leaving the game for precautionary reasons with a groin issue, breaking his seven game hit streak.

One thing that didn't change with Sonoma's loss was their spot in the Pacific Association standings. While both Vallejo and Pittsburg gained a game on the Stompers, San Rafael's 2-1 loss on Sunday kept the team seven games ahead of the defending champions in the standings.

The two teams will face off seven times over the next week beginning on Tuesday. Sonoma will travel to San Rafael for three games before coming home on Friday, July 3 for three games. On Sunday, July 5 Sonoma will play that unique day-night home and home doubleheader with a 7-inning game beginning at 1:05 p.m. at Arnold Field and a second 7-inning game starting at 6:05 p.m. in San Rafael.

Tuesday's game will begin at 7:05 p.m. with the radio broadcast beginning at 6:50 p.m. Big lefty Eric Schwieger will get the start for Sonoma, who lost their only game of the season that they played in San Rafael back on June 10.

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Stompers Set Franchise Record With Seventh Straight Win, 9-7

ered Mochizuki had a season-high five RBIs on Saturday, including a bases-clearing double that helped Sonoma take down Pittsburg.

James Toy III/Sonoma Stompers

Tim Livingston, Director of Broadcasting & Media Relations

Even with another big inning early in the game much like they did on Friday night against Pittsburg, Sonoma knew that the Diamonds were not going to go down without a fight.

Thankfully, the Stompers offense answered every Pittsburg outburst with one of their own, and when Paul Hvozdovic got Rich Mejia to fly out to right field to end the game, Sonoma had set a new franchise record for wins in a row. Saturday's 9-7 victory was the seventh straight win for the Stompers, breaking the record of six the team set during the first week of the season.

While it was a seven run inning on Friday night that got Sonoma (18-3) out to a lead they would never relinquish, Saturday night's five run third inning came after a leadoff home run from Pittsburg (7-16) as Brandon Williams took Stompers starter Mike Jackson, Jr. (2-1) deep in the bottom of the first to open the scoring.

Yet Sonoma found a way in the third to get to the sidearming southpaw Mike Miller (0-1) who was making his season debut with the Diamonds. Sonoma loaded the bases with two outs, and on a pitch to the left-handed hitting Gered Mochizuki, the Stompers shortstop lined a shot down the left field line just out of the reach of Williams for a bases clearing double to give Sonoma the lead.

The doubles kept coming as Joel Carranza and Isaac Wenrich each had one of their own, giving Sonoma all five runs with two outs and a great advantage for Jackson once he went back out for the third.

Pittsburg kept battling back, though, and when the two teams looked at the scoreboard come the sixth inning, it was tied at 5-5 and the Stompers were trying to figure out how to hold off the surging Diamonds.

The Stompers got those four runs back in the later innings to give themselves the lead once again, but two critical at-bats featuring Diamonds slugger Mike Taylor became nail-biting moments for the visiting squad. Facing Jerome Godsey in the seventh as the go-ahead run, Taylor kept fouling off pitches before taking a breaking ball on the outside corner for a called strike three to end the inning on the ninth pitch of the at-bat.

When Pittsburg got two more runs in the ninth off Paul Hvozdovic, the Diamonds couldn't have asked for a better situation when Taylor strode to the plate. Just like in the seventh, there were two runners on and he represented the winning run. Just like in the seventh, he fouled off pitches to stay alive against a tough lefty. Just like in the seventh, he went down looking, this time on a perfectly placed fastball on the inside corner that froze Taylor and sent him to the dugout with his third strikeout of the evening.

That led to Mejia's flyout to give Sonoma an unprecedented 18th win in 21 games in 2015, and much like it has been all year, the Stompers offense led the team to victory again. Carranza had three hits to extend a seven-game hitting streak, pushing his average north of .300 to .301. Wenrich had two doubles on the evening and has three in his last two games. Mochizuki had a season-high five RBIs and Sergio Miranda reached base four times and drove in a run.

The hard look at the Stompers offense shows that up and down the lineup, different parts of the order come through on different nights. Tonight, it was the guys in the heart of the order that did it, and when that part of the lineup is hot, the team has looked unbeatable.

On Sunday afternoon, Matt Walker will return to Pittsburg for the first time since his one-hitter back on June 17, where he took a no-hitter into the ninth before Mejia broke it up with a one-out single. The first pitch for tomorrow's game is set for 1:05 p.m., with the radio broadcast beginning at 12:50.

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Sean Conroy Becomes First Openly Gay Professional Baseball Player

Sean Conroy gets ready to make history on Thursday night.

James Toy III/Sonoma Stompers

Originally Published: Sports Illustrated

Sports Illustrated Wire Service

Sean Conroy became the first openly gay baseball player to appear in a professional game on Thursday.

Conroy pitched nine scoreless innings to lead the Sonoma Stompers to a 7-0 win over the Vallejo Admirals in the Pacific Association of Baseball Clubs, an independent league featuring teams from Northern California.

The Stompers' general manager, Theo Fightmaster, told the Associated Press that the team did not make a special announcement so that Conroy could focus on his start. According to Fightmaster, Conroy told teammates and management about his sexual orientation and agreed to come out on the Stompers' Pride Night.

"It's not that I wanted it to go public, but I didn't care if it was open information. It's who I am," Conroy said, according to the AP. "I am definitely surprised that no one else has been openly gay in baseball yet."

Conroy, a native of Clifton Park, N.Y., graduated from Division III Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 2015. The 23-year-old made appearances as a relief pitcher before debuting as a starter on Thursday.

First Openly Gay Player K's 11 In Stompers' Win (MLB.com)

Sean Conroy smiles after his historic start on Thursday night.

James Toy III/Sonoma Stompers

Originally Published: MLB.com

Spencer Fordin, MLB.com Reporter

Sean Conroy made a statement just by doing his job on Thursday night.

Conroy, believed to be the first active openly gay player in professional baseball history, threw a shutout for the Sonoma Stompers of the Pacific Association of Professional Baseball Clubs.

Conroy struck out 11 batters and led Sonoma to a 7-0 victory over the Vallejo Admirals on Thursday night, a mere matter of hours before the Unites States Supreme Court legalized gay marriage in all 50 states in a landmark decision.

"It's something that I've wanted to do for the last few years, playing through college ball, seeing it as an opportunity to represent the cause and help young people in whatever way I can," Conroy told MLB.com about his decision to come out publicly. "From the start, all of my teammates have been very supportive. It's great to have them have my back in the field and in the dugout. It's amazing.

"All of the fan support was overwhelming -- the rainbow socks, wristbands, arm sleeves. It was just incredible."

The 23-year-old never allowed a runner to get past second base and never had an inning with more than one runner on base at a time. Conroy's 11 strikeouts were one shy of a team record, and he threw 140 pitches in the victory. Conroy told reporters after the game that the whole day was a blur.

"I still haven't been able to process it," said Conroy. "After the final out, I just wanted to celebrate with my teammates, like we always have."

Conroy, a native of Clifton Park, N.Y., pitched for Division III Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where he went 6-2 with a 1.87 ERA in 2015, his senior season. Conroy logged a 1.29 ERA as a junior and a 1.81 mark as a sophomore. This year, prior to turning pro, he was named the Liberty League Pitcher of the Year.