Stompers Swept In Doubleheader, Lead Now Down To 4 Games Over Pacifics

Daniel Baptista had four hits in Sunday's doubleheader, and his .348 batting average is the third best in the Pacific Association.

James Toy III/Sonoma Stompers

Tim Livingston, Director of Broadcasting & Media Relations

When Sonoma saw the San Rafael Pacifics on the schedule seven times this past week, there was this idea that the Stompers would use the week's worth of competition as a catapult towards clinching the Pacific Association's first half championship.

Yet here the Stompers are at the end of the week looking back at a 2-5 record against San Rafael, and after losing both games in Sunday's doubleheader against the Pacifics, Sonoma sits only four games up on San Rafael with 10 games to go in the first half. Sonoma got behind early against San Rafael in the opener at Arnold Field and fell 8-1, while a six-run fourth inning doomed the Stompers in game two at Albert Park, 8-4.

It wasn't what Sonoma (20-9) was looking for, obviously, as they came into the week with a magic number of 11 to clinch the first half. With seven games against San Rafael (16-13), a week over .500 would have put them on the precipice, but the Pacifics offense that has helped the team to 11 wins in their last 16 games came out to play this week.

The opener saw the Pacifics take advantage of a Kristian Gayday error in the first inning that ended up leading to three runs, and in the second inning, Matt Chavez used the elements in play to launch a three-run homer to right-center at Arnold Field on a fly ball that looked routine until the wind took it for a ride right over the fence.

Eric Schwieger (3-1) went the distance for Sonoma in the loss, and the bad luck that befell him with the error and the elements ended up stinging the big left-hander is loss of 2015.

Sonoma's offense picked up in the second game. After being down 2-0, the Stompers roared back for two runs in the second and fourth innings to take a lead against San Rafael pitcher Ryan DeJesus (2-2).

But the Pacifics came right back in the bottom half of the inning against Gregory Paulino (2-3) and chased him from the game thanks to a two run double from Adrian Martinez that tied the game. When Erik Gonzalves relieved Paulino with the bases loaded, his first pitch to David Kiriakos was lined right over the head of Gayday at third and down the line for a bases– clearing double, which gave San Rafael all they needed.

All in all, the seven games in six days didn't seem to sit well with the Stompers. Their offense was not as sharp as it had been the previous four weeks and some of that had to do with facing San Rafael's pitching staff, which was the best in the league overall when using advanced stats such as FIP.

Meanwhile, the pitching staff that was the best in the league are preventing runs ended up not having their best week either. In total, Sonoma's pitchers gave up a total of 43 runs this week, bringing their ERA as a team to 4.14. This is something that might've been coming all along for Sonoma, as their FIP coming into Sunday's action sat at 4.24. The team had been outperforming it's FIP for the first month of the season, and it now looks like it's correcting itself

It was a banner week for San Rafael's Matt Chavez as he hit five home runs to increase his league best total to 13. By Sunday's end, Chavez was at the top of all three Triple Crown categories in the Pacific Association.

Daniel Baptista was the highlight of the day offensively for Sonoma, as he led the way with four hits in the doubleheader. Mark Hurley added three hits in both games to push his stats to .301/.373/.403 on the season. The Stompers left fielder has nine hits in his last 19 at-bats.

After the off day on Monday, Sonoma will play their next six games in the friendly confines of Arnold Field. Their first game will take place Tuesday evening when the red-hot Pittsburg Diamonds come to town, winners of their last five in a row. First pitch is set for 6:05 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 downtown Sonoma. The gates are open one hour before first pitch and fans can purchase tickets there, as well. For more information, call the Stompers at (707) 938-7277 or email the team at info@stompersbaseball.com.

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Stompers Fall 6-2, First Home Loss Of 2015

Fehlandt Lentini and the Stompers will play a unique doubleheader on Sunday against San Rafael, with Game 1 taking place at Arnold Field beginning at 1:05 p.m. Game 2 is in San Rafael beginning at 6:05.

James Toy III/Sonoma Stompers

Tim Livingston, Director of Broadcasting & Media Relations

It started out looking like another one of those starts for Matt Walker, where he used deception and command to keep the San Rafael Pacifics off balance. Then the Pacifics offense that had helped the team to eight wins out of their last 13 showed up and proved why they are a team to watch towards the end of the first half of the 2015 Pacific Association campaign.

A two-out, two-run single from Zack Pace and a two-run opposite-field shot by Jeremy Williams where the big blows in San Rafael's 6-2 victory over Sonoma, as the Pacifics handed the Stompers their first loss at Arnold Field in 2015.

Sonoma (20-7) played small ball early and were able to push across a run in the third, followed up by back-to-back two-out doubles by Danny Baptista and Mark Hurley in the fourth to make it 2-0. This seemed like a good start for Walker (2-2), who retired 12 straight at one point.

But it was the fifth inning that turned things around, as Walker walked three batters in a row with two outs and gave up Pace's two-run single to tie the game. Then Williams hit his two-run homer in the sixth to give San Rafael the lead for the first time, and their bullpen came up big in support of Nick DeBarr (2-2).

After seven strong innings from their Opening Night starter, the Pacifics turned to the hard throwing tandem of Cody Bostjancic and Michael Kershner to wrap things up, with Kershner striking out Isaac Wenrich to end the game.

Sonoma's offense was held in check after that second run came home, but they had their chances to tie things up. Wenrich in particular had a chance to remember, as he launched a high fly ball down the right field line with a runner on in the seventh, but it drifted foul instead of becoming a game-tying two-run homer. The team left a total of 11 runners on in the game.

The loss for Sonoma keeps their magic number at 7 with 12 more games to play in the first half, including three more against the Pacifics. Two of those games will happen tomorrow as part of a unique day/night doubleheader where each team will host one of the two games.

Game one is set for a 1:05 first pitch, as the big lefty Eric Schwieger will take the mound for Sonoma in the rubber match of the three game set at Arnold Field. Game two will start at 6:05 at Albert Park in San Rafael, where a starter has not yet been named for the Stompers. Tickets purchased for the first game at Arnold Field will also be accepted for the second game at Albert Park.

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Stompers Magic Number For First Half Title Now 7 After 3-2 Win

Mike Jackson's six strong innings helped the Stompers to their 20th win of 2015 and kept the team undefeated at Arnold Field.

James Toy III/Sonoma Stompers

Tim Livingston, Director of Broadcasting & Media Relations

Ho-hum games aren't something seen on the regular in the Pacific Association, as any game with less than 10 total runs scored is looked at as some type of anomaly. It was one of those anomalies on Thursday night, and for the Stompers, it was an anomaly they were happy to be a part of.

Thanks to a strong start from Mike Jackson and shutdown relief work from Paul Hvozdovic and Sean Conroy, the Sonoma Stompers got ever closer to the Pacific Association 1st half championship with a 3-2 victory over the defending champion San Rafael Pacifics.

Sonoma (20-6) is the first team to 20 wins in the Pacific Association and has a magic number of 7 for the 1st half title. They also remain undefeated at home, as they are now 10-0 at Arnold Field so far in 2015.

Sonoma got out to an early lead thanks to an RBI single by Gered Mochizuki and a sacrifice fly by Kristian Gayday in the first, and after Sergio Miranda's sac fly in the second, Sonoma got all the runs they'd need on the evening.

Much of their success had to do because of  mishaps by San Rafael (13-13). In the bottom of the second inning, Maikel Jova's error on a fly ball allowed Fehlandt Lentini to reach and keep the inning alive for Miranda's sac fly. In the top of the third, with two runs already in for San Rafael, Jova came home from third on a sharp grounder to Danny Baptista at first and was easily thrown out, keeping the Pacifics from tying the game.

Then, with the tying runs on later in the game, San Rafael learned the hard way about giving away outs with the sacrifice bunt. After Adrian Martinez's leadoff double in the fourth, a sac bunt from David Kiriakos moved him over to third base, but Zack Pace bounced out to the pitcher and a groundout by Johnny Bekakis ended the threat.

An even more egregious move was made in the sixth, when runners were at first and second with nobody out, but Kiriakos grounded out to short against a drawn in infield for the second out and Pace flew out to end the inning.

Those were the best opportunities San Rafael would get against Jackson (3-1), who pitched around some bad batted ball luck and found the strike zone a lot in his six innings, allowing eight hits and two walks with three strikeouts.

Hvozdovic got a scare against Matt Chavez in the seventh when the league's leading home run hitter crushed a ball, but Chavez hit it to the wrong part of the yard, as Lentini ran it down in center just shy of the fence. After a scoreless eighth, Conroy shut the door in the ninth for his fifth save, giving him 17 innings with a 0.00 ERA.

Joel Carranza's hot streak continued, as well, as he went 2-for-3 for his fourth consecutive multi-hit game and his seventh over his last 10 games. He's now hitting .350/.400/.550 this season, leading the team in all three triple slash categories and amongst the top 5 in the Pacific Association in each category, as well.

Sonoma will come back home on Saturday evening for the first time ever on Independence Day, as the Stompers will host the Pacifics in game two of their three game series. Before the game, the Stompers will march in the nationally renowned 4th of July parade at 10 a.m.

The first pitch is set for 5:05 p.m., with the gates opening at Arnold Field beginning at 4 p.m. Parking will be tough to come by at the normal parking lot between the field and Depot Park, so fans are encouraged to park in the parking lot behind the Veteran's Memorial Building, with entrances on both 1st Street West and 1st Street East.

Tickets are available online at StompersBaseball.com and at the gate once it opens. For more information on ticket sales, please call the Stompers at (707) 938-7277 or email the team at info@StompersBaseball.com.

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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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