It's a fantasy baseball player's dream: Taking the reins at a real ballclub. That's what two baseball writers did this year, planning to run the minor league squad based on advanced statistics.
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Santos Saldivar is looking like an ace already. He was brilliant in his first start with Sonoma.
James Toy III/Sonoma Stompers
Tim Livingston, Director of Broadcasting & Media Relations
Santos Saldivar looked determined to make his first start with the Stompers one to remember. Given an opportunity to take the ball from the get go thanks to some stellar relief work and his impressive college track record as a starter, the rookie from Pasadena, Texas made life very difficult for the Vallejo Admirals. For seven shutout innings, the stout right-hander made mincemeat out of the league's worst offense, as he allowed only six baserunners over his seven shutout innings of work and struck out nine batters as the Stompers defeated the Admirals, 7-4 in their weeklong series opener at Arnold Field.
The Stompers offense again got after Demetrius Banks (2-5), who for the second straight time on the road against Sonoma (9-7 2nd half, 35-18 overall) didn't have a great outing. Two runs came home in the first thanks to RBI singles by Brennan Metzger and Mark Hurley, and then the third saw a two-out rally highlighted by two RBI singles and a balk from Banks.
Sonoma's big offensive moment came from Isaac Wenrich in the sixth, when the catcher launched his ninth home run of the year to left-center against Brooks Belter to make it 6-0. Sonoma's 7-0 lead came thanks to a Taylor Eads single in the seventh.
Meanwhile, Santos (1-1) was absolutely phenomenal with one of the most impressive arsenals seen in the Pacific Association this year. Vallejo (5-11, 18-37) could barely make good contact against Santos, as the four hits from the Admirals were mostly bloopers, with Tyler Nordgren's seventh inning single on a slider up the only hard hit ball that fell up until that point.
Surprisingly, the four runs came home for the Admirals off Sean Conroy, who wasn't as sharp as he normally was. Three straight doubles to lead off the eighth inning cut the deficit to 7-2, and then a two-run single by Jordan Berry in the ninth made it a three run ballgame.
Conroy was able to settle down and retire Joshua Wong to end the game, but it got a lot more dramatic down the stretch than was expected. Luckily for both Conroy and the Stompers, the issues came in a game that was easily Sonoma's, and now both teams can move forward with a win under their belts in the weeklong series opener.
Offensively, five players had two-hit nights, with all nine batters reaching base at least once. Yuki Yasuda's 14-game hitting streak did come to an end, as he went 0-for-4 with a walk. Wenrich drove in two runs by Yasuda scored twice.
Sonoma will host Mr. Cheese O's night on Wednesday with their presenting partner, Sonoma Creamery. The popular cheese snack will be available to purchase at the ballpark as part of the Stompers' initiative to reach out to local partners and offer healthy alternatives at the ballpark.
First pitch is set for 6:05 p.m., with the gates at Arnold Field opening at 5 p.m. It will also be a Wine Down Wednesday, as all Leese-Fitch wine varieties will cost only $4 per glass for fans 21 and older.
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.
Brennan Metzger drove in both runs on Sunday afternoon for the Stompers.
Danielle Putonen/Sonoma Stompers
Tim Livingston, Director of Broadcasting & Media Relations
The navigation of the second half of the 2015 Pacific Association season looks like it will be a very difficult trek for the Sonoma Stompers, as their domination of the first half has led their competition to catch up to them for an opportunity to face the Stompers in the championship game scheduled for August 31.
After a 4-2 week against the San Rafael Pacifics, the Stompers turned around and went 2-4 against the Pittsburg Diamonds this week, with Sunday's 9-2 loss ending the week on a down note and giving the Stompers only their second series loss at home this season.
Sonoma (8-7 2nd half, 34-16 overall) had only one advantage this afternoon thanks to an error by Pittsburg (9-6, 27-26) starter Jheyson Manzueta (4-2), who had an errant pick off throw to first base trying to get Matt Hibbert. As the ball squirted away from Mike Taylor, Hibbert went all the way to third and came home on an RBI groundout by Brennan Metzger.
From there, it was basically all Pittsburg, but they did get a lucky bounce along the way. With one out and runners at the corners in the fourth, Leo Rodriguez bounced a ball towards second that looked like a double play, only to see it bound over the shoulder of Yuki Yasuda off the lip of the infield grass to bring home the tying run. A fielder's choice by Tim Battle then gave Pittsburg the lead for good.
After the early run, Manzueta settled down and kept the league-best Stomper offense at bay, allowing only two hits during his eight innings. He didn't have his best control, walking four and throwing only 62 of his 107 pitches for strikes, but he constantly induced weak contact.
Pittsburg pulled away for good in the seventh, plating four runs against both Jackson and newcomer Cole Warren, who made his professional debut in relief for the Stompers. The exclamation point for Pittsburg came in the ninth with a three-run homer by Mike Taylor, his 16th of the season and his fourth of this week against the Stompers.
Metzger knocked in both Sonoma runs with groundouts to shortstop, while Matt Hibbert, Isaac Wenrich, Gered Mochizuki and TJ Gavlik tallied the hits.
With San Rafael's 8-3 victory over Vallejo to move the Pacifics into a second place tie with the Stompers, it looks like Sonoma will have to fend off multiple advances in the second half to try and win an outright championship. After two weeks of work against Pittsburg and San Rafael, the Stompers will welcome the Vallejo Admirals to Arnold Field for the week, as all six games between the two teams will be played at home. 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 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.
Brennan Metzger had a big day for the Stompers, including hitting his first home run since joining the team last week.
James Toy III/Sonoma Stompers
Tim Livingston, Director of Broadcasting & Media Relations
While it was billed as a doubleheader at Arnold Field Saturday, the only game that mattered was the day's first game between the Stompers and Pittsburg Diamonds. With the second game being treated mainly as an exhibition game since it was a makeup game from the first half, the onus was on the teams to leave it all on the field early on in the seven inning contest.
Unfortunately for the Stompers, they got the memo a bit too late. While they eventually woke up offensively, they had to make up a seven run deficit in doing so. Even with a six run rally in the penultimate frame, they fell to the Diamonds, 10-9, creating a tie for first place in the second half standings.
Pittsburg (8-6 2nd half, 26-26 overall) got to Sonoma (8-6, 34-17) in the third inning against starter Paul Hvozdovic (4-1). Two runs came home thanks to Tyler Eppler's first home run of the season, and then the Diamonds really opened things up the fourth. Thanks to four walks in the inning along with a double and two singles, the Diamonds scored five times and brought 10 batters to the plate, chasing Hvozdovic from the game.
Sonoma battled back to make it 7-3 after a two-run homer from Isaac Wenrich and a solo shot from Brennan Metzger, but the Diamonds got three more in the sixth to push the lead back to seven runs and make it seem like an insurmountable lead.
Yet there they were, the league's best offense figuring out ways to get back into the game even with only six outs to go against Clint Manzo. Taylor Eads had a two-run double to deep center field to get the scoring going, but after the second out of the inning, things starting getting strange.
Matt Hibbert grounded out to second for the second out, but first baseman Mike Taylor for some reason decided to throw the ball back to Michael Cerda at second and realized halfway through his throw that Eads was still at third. The ball slipped out of his hands and allowed Eads to score and make it a 10-6 game.
The two-out rally then began with a Yuki Yasuda single, extending his hitting streak to 14 games. He then moved to second on a passed ball before Metzger singled him home to make it 10-7. Then Mark Hurley launched a two-run homer to left to make it 10-9 and put the Stompers on the precipice of a second seven-run comeback at home this year against the Diamonds.
However, it would all be for naught as Steve Chapter came in to clean up the mess, completing a four out save to move the Diamonds back into a tie for first place.
Metzger's 2-for-4 day at the plate was the highlight of the game for Sonoma, with Hurley scoring two runs, as well. All but one hitter had a hit in the Sonoma lineup.
The second game was more of an exhibition game, featuring pitchers playing in the field and even the Pittsburg hitting coach (Lonnie Jackson) and general manager (Tom Macari) getting ABs against Ryusuke Kikusawa and Jeff Conley. Yasuda even homered in the game, and Gregory Paulino had two singles as the standout pitcher at the plate. Paulino and Sean Conroy roamed the outfield while Erik Gonsalves, Matt Walker and Eric Schwieger played on the infield. Tommy Lyons also got some ABs, roping a double down the right-field line and driving in a run with a groundout.
The game also featured Sonoma using the installed PitchF/X system to call balls and strikes, with players from both teams announcing the pitches over the in-house PA system. It was a truly entertaining evening at the ballpark, as the players were able to let loose and have fun in front of a good-sized crowd at Arnold Field.
With all the fun done for the time being, it's time to get back to work on Sunday, as the two teams will battle for sole possession of first place in the second half standings. The first pitch is set for 1:05 p.m., with the radio broadcast beginning at 12:50 on StompersBaseball.com and the TuneIn app.
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.
Yuki Yasuda reached base all five times he came to the plate in Sonoma's 8-3 win on Friday night.
James Toy III/Sonoma Stompers
Tim Livingston, Director of Broadcasting & Media Relations
The Sonoma Stompers are once again alone atop the second half standings of the Pacific Association as they defeated the Pittsburg Diamonds, 8-3 on Friday night, breaking the two teams' tie for first place.
It was yet another game where Sonoma (8-5 2nd half, 34-16 overall) left multiple baserunners on in multiple innings, but in situations where they did get runners on, two big hits propelled them forward to victory. The first big hit came from Mark Hurley in the bottom of the opening frame, as with two runners on, a fly ball to right field just snuck over the 10-foot fence for a three-run homer to give Sonoma a lead they would never relinquish.
The second big hit came in a 4-2 game with the bases loaded in the fourth. Brennan Metzger singled to left field to bring two runs home, and as Yuki Yasuda tried to go first to third, Jordan Hinshaw's throw to try and get Yasuda out was wild, allowing the speedy infielder to race home for the third run on the play and put the game out of reach for good.
While he didn't have his best stuff, starter Gregory Paulino (6-3) did well enough to earn the victory. In his five innings, the young right-hander struck out five but allowed 11 baserunners (six hits and five walks), including solo homers to Hinshaw and Mike Taylor. Santos Saldivar and Jon Rand, Jr. each threw two innings in relief to finish things off for the Stompers.
Offensively, Yasuda was the star, reaching all five times he saw the plate by going 3-for-3 with two walks and three runs scored. Sonoma only had six hits on the evening, but were able to coerce nine walks from the Pittsburg (7-6, 25-26) pitching staff, including five from starter Dennis Neal (4-1), who was ineffective in his five innings of work and took his first loss of the year.
Sonoma and Pittsburg will lock horns tomorrow for two games, including a makeup game from July 9 that was postponed due to inclement weather. The first game will take place at 1 p.m. with the second game slated for 5 p.m. Both games will be seven-inning affairs, with the first game counting towards the second half and the second game counting towards the first half matchup that was postponed.
A special price for the second game will be honored for tickets purchased behind home plate, with premium reserved tickets going for only $6 and grandstand seats costing only $4. Those prices will only be honored if a ticket has been purchased or redeemed for the first game.
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.
Carranza has been the most prolific power hitter in the short history of the Sonoma Stompers and will now move on to the Can-Am League with the Trois Riviere Aigles.
Brandon Davis/Sonoma Stompers
Tim Livingston, Director of Broadcasting & Media Relations
Sonoma Stompers star first baseman Joel Carranza has accepted a promotion to the Trois Rivieres Aigles of the Canadian-American League. The move was made official late Thursday night, with the Stompers receiving future considerations from Trois Rivieres in exchange for Carranza.
Carranza, 27, has been one of the most prolific offensive players in the Pacific Association since his arrival in 2014 during the debut season of the Stompers. After setting the league's single season home run record in 2014 with 19 dingers, Carranza has put together one of the best all-around seasons from any player in the league in 2015, hitting .358/.406/.575 with 10 home runs, nine doubles, 39 RBI and 36 runs scored.
By advanced metrics, Carranza had a 154 Weighted Runs Created Plus (wRC+) and a Weighted On-Base Average (wOBA) of .419 in 2015, the third-highest mark amongst eligible hitters in the league. He finishes his Stompers career with 29 home runs and a line of .304/.368/.539 in 117 games.
The Pembroke Pines, Florida native is in his fifth season of professional baseball, having previously played in the Pecos League and the Frontier League. He now has 55 home runs in his career, and his career line sits at .320/.391/.560.
In a post to the Facebook page of the Stompers on Friday morning, Carranza expressed his gratitude for his time with the Stompers.
"So it's official. I have been given the opportunity to go play for the Trois Rivieres Aigles in Canada," said Carranza, "I am blessed to have this opportunity and very thankful for it. I want to say thank you to all the fans and the whole Sonoma Stompers organization for giving me the opportunity to be part of the community for the past 2 years."
"I wish the team and the organization the best of luck in the rest of the season and hope to see the championship brought home to Sonoma. I will always feel as I am part of Sonoma and will miss it, and I will always remember the Stompers faithful."
The Aigles are located in the city of Trois-Rivieres, Quebec and are currently in fourth place in the Can-Am League standings at 29-31, 6 1/2 games back of first place. They play at Stade Fernand-Bédard, which was first built in 1938 and recently underwent a renovation in 2009.
The Stompers are back at home tonight for the beginning of a 10-game homestand at Arnold Field, as they welcome the Pittsburg Diamonds to town. First pitch is set for 6:05 p.m. with the gates opening at 5 p.m. It's the first KRAVE Friday of the season, as KRAVE Jerky will be available for purchase at the park and food pairings will be available to fans 21 and older.
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.
TJ Gavlik's big night helped the Stompers offense come through late in Sonoma's 9-8 win over Pittsburg.
James Toy III/Sonoma Stompers
Tim Livingston, Director of Broadcasting & Media Relations
After two games that saw the Stompers not take advantage of run scoring opportunities late in close games against the Pittsburg Diamonds, it was indeed the third time that was the charm, as TJ Gavlik's ninth inning RBI single plated Mark Hurley for what proved to be the winning run in a 9-8 victory.
Sonoma (7-5 2nd half, 33-16 overall) was on the verge of being swept for the first time this season thanks to three late runs by Pittsburg (7-5, 25-25) in the seventh, giving the Diamonds an 8-5 lead and putting the Stompers on their heels with only six outs left for a comeback.
When the eighth inning came around, Sonoma got a jolt from Andrew Parker, as a solo home run to left field cut the deficit to 8-6. Gavlik then walked and went all the way to third after two wild pitches from Justin Martinez. He then scored after a bloop single by Matt Hibbert to make it 8-7, and Hibbert went to second after a Yasuda single.
That set the stage for a wild play on a ground ball up the middle by Kristian Gayday. Diamonds shortstop Leo Rodriguez ranged behind the bag and tried to throw to second and end the inning, but the throw sailed wide and everyone was safe. Yasuda turned and started to go to third, but first baseman Mike Taylor was backing up the throw from Rodriguez and tried to gun down Yasuda as he returned to the bag. That throw also went wide and into the outfield, allowing Hibbert to race home from third with the tying run.
From there, Erik Gonsalves (4-2) had to traverse a tough eighth inning. Even after getting two outs with one runner on, Gonsalves couldn't close things out, walking the next two batters to load the bases. With 2014 Pacific Association Rookie of the Year Jordan Hinshaw at the plate, Gonsalves found enough to sit down Hinshaw with a strikeout and escape the jam.
That led to the fateful ninth inning, where Gavlik's single gave Sonoma the lead. They still needed to retire the Diamonds in the bottom of the inning, where it was left up to relief ace Sean Conroy. A rare walk to the Pacific Association's leading hitter in Scott David led things off, with David being moved to second on a ground out. Tim Battle then came to the plate and smashed a comebacker to Conroy.
Conroy turned to check on David, and David had taken too much of a secondary lead off the bag, leading Conroy to throw behind David just as he slid back into second, but not nearly in time to avoid the tag for the second out. After a fly out to Hibbert in center field, the game was over and the Stompers were back in a tie for first place.
Gavlik's 3-for-4 day at the plate led the Stompers offensive attack, and while no other hitter had more than one hit, four players had multiple walks, as Hibbert, Yasuda, Hurley and Parker all showed great patience at the plate. Sonoma had 10 walks in all.
With their final trip to City Park behind them, the Stompers will turn their attention to their upcoming 10-game homestand. Sonoma will host the Diamonds for four games over the weekend, including a doubleheader on Saturday. Friday's series opener is the first of three KRAVE Fridays presented by KRAVE Jerky. Fans will be able to purchase KRAVE Jerky products and have food pairings with various beverages in the Lagunitas Beer Garden.
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.
Santos Saldivar was stellar in relief Wednesday night for Sonoma.
James Toy III/Sonoma Stompers
Tim Livingston, Director of Broadcasting & Media Relations
If Tuesday night's loss for the Sonoma Stompers against the Pittsburg Diamonds was Sunday's win over the San Rafael Pacifics but in reverse, Wednesday night's 5-3 loss against Pittsburg was like Tuesday's loss being played over and over again over the final five innings.
Sonoma (6-5 2nd half, 32-16 overall), who saw two opportunities flutter away right in front of them on Tuesday night, was once again down to Pittsburg (7-4 2nd half, 25-24 overall), but it was a bit earlier in the game thanks to the Diamonds getting to starter Matt Walker (2-4) early. By the time he was relieved by Santos Saldivar, the Stompers were down 5-2.
So facing Dylan Brammer (3-0) for the third time beginning in the fifth, the Stompers were hoping that the stats would back up their league-best bats. Pitchers who see a lineup the third time through generally do not do well, and while the numbers for Brammer the third time through weren't as bad as other pitchers, it was still the time for Sonoma to strike.
So things looked good after a lead off single by Isaac Wenrich and after a flyout to deep left-center by Taylor Eads, Brammer got wild, walking both Matt Hibbert and Yuki Yasuda to load the bases for Brennan Metzger. With nowhere to put him, Brammer still couldn't hit his spots, as Metzger walked to bring home Wenrich and make it 5-3.
From there, the Stompers couldn't figure out how to get a runner home in the fifth or any inning afterwards. After Metzger reached, Joel Carranza popped out and Gered Mochizuki lined out to center to end Sonoma's best opportunity so far that evening.
Unfortunately for Sonoma, the opportunities kept coming up empty the rest of the way. The Stompers got at least two runners on with one out or less in each of the next three innings, including loading the bases in the seventh. However, Kristian Gayday grounded out into an inning-ending double play.
The Stompers stranded 10 of their 12 runners over the final five innings, as the hit sequencing that leads to runs eluded the Stompers yet again. There's plenty of bad luck that comes along with leaving that many runners on base, but the offense also ran into a Diamonds pitching staff that handcuffed some of the team's best hitters. Carranza went 0-for-5 with 3 K's. Metzger went 0-for-2 but did draw two walks and got hit by a pitch.
Not everyone was handcuffed, though. Matt Hibbert went 2-for-5 and both Yasuda and Wenrich went 2-for-4. The problem was that all of Sonoma's nine hits and six walks were not created equal. The majority of hits got runners on, but only a few got runners home (two RBI singles by Mochizuki and Gayday in the first). From there, the Stompers run-scoring hits never came.
Saldivar did do his part to try and give Sonoma those opportunities, as he threw 4 1/3 shutout innings in relief of Walker while allowing four hits and one walk. He struck out five batters, as well. He now has 14 strikeouts in his 10 1/3 innings so far this season.
With the loss, Sonoma fell a game behind Pittsburg for first place in the second half of the season. It's the first time all season long that Sonoma has not had at least a share of first place in the first or second half. Now facing a sweep, the Stompers will send Eric Schwieger to the mound in the series finale of their final series at City Park this season. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. with the radio broadcast beginning at 6:50 on both StompersBaseball.com and the TuneIn App.
Joel Carranza set a new franchise record by extending his hitting streak to 16 games on Tuesday night.
Danielle Putonen/Sonoma Stompers
Tim Livingston, Director of Broadcasting & Media Relations
It was the opposite side of the coin from Sunday's thrilling win against San Rafael. Like the Pacifics, the Stompers had two chances late in the game to seal a win against the Pittsburg Diamonds in the opener of their three game series on Tuesday night. Unfortunately, like the Pacifics, the Stompers ended up on the wrong side of the score, 4-3 in this case. But the way they lost it stung worst of all.
In the eighth, against a wild Justin Martinez, two runners got aboard with nobody out and the Stompers down one. With Gered Mochizuki at the plate, the Stompers put on the butcher boy play, where Mochizuki squared around to bunt and then pulled back to hit against a drawn in infield. The ball got in the dirt, but was blocked by Pittsburg (6-4 2nd half, 24-24 overall) catcher Tyler Eppler.
Joel Carranza, the runner at first, broke for second thinking the ball got by Eppler, but he didn't see that Eppler found it at his feet. By the time he realized it, Eppler had thrown down to first behind Carrazna for the out. At the same time, Brennan Metzger took off from second thinking he could make it to third with his speed, but Mike Taylor threw it across the diamond to get Metzger just in time for the out, ending a prime scoring opportunity.
While the eighth saw Sonoma (6-4, 32-15) run into their trouble, the ninth was more frustrating for what was out of Sonoma's control. The Stompers loaded the bases in the inning against Steve Chapter with one out, bringing Isaac Wenrich to the plate. With Chapter struggling, Pittsburg went to its sixth pitcher of the night in lefty Rob Ellis. Ellis fell behind 3-1 before a breaking ball on the outside was called a strike that was questionable to Wenrich.
After fouling a pitch off and breaking his bat, Wenrich came back to a full count and a team needing one more run to tie the game. Another Ellis slider around the belt line was called a strike, upsetting Wenrich to the point where after retreating to the dugout, he was ejected for arguing balls and strikes. Metzger then hit a sharp ground ball up the middle, but Leo Rodriguez was playing up the middle and was able to snag it and toss it to second for the force out that ended the game.
In all, the Stompers left nine runners on and only had four hits, although three of the four hits brought home runs thanks to seven Diamonds walks. One of those hits was by Carranza, who set a new franchise record by extending his hitting streak to 16 games.
Mike Jackson, Jr. took the loss but pitched well in defeat. He allowed the four runs (three earned) on nine hits but had no walks and struck out eight in six innings. It was his fourth start with at least eight strikeouts this season. Erik Gonsalves and Jon Rand, Jr. finished up, with Gonsalves leaving for precautionary reasons after 1 1/3 innings after taking a line drive off the inside of his non-throwing hand.
The Stompers will return to Pittsburg on Wednesday evening with Matt Walker set to start for Sonoma. The winner of the game will take over sole possession of first place in the second half standings of the Pacific Association. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. with the radio broadcast beginning at 6:50 on StompersBaseball.com and the TuneIn mobile app.
Sean Conroy got another win in relief as the team's fireman on Sunday, going 4 2/3 innings to help Sonoma to a series win over San Rafael.
James Toy III/Sonoma Stompers
Tim Livingston, Director of Broadcasting & Media Relations
Sean Conroy had made a name for himself with his pitching performances late in games as the closer for the Sonoma Stompers. Yet his best performances this season have been in starts, where he allowed only two earned runs over 17 innings. So when you find a middle ground by trying to get the team's best pitcher some innings, the role of the fireman, seldom used nowadays with specialized bullpens, seems taylor made for a guy like Conroy.
He was terrific in the role on Thursday, as he helped the Stompers hold off a late charge from the San Rafael Pacifics in an 8-6 victory, ending the game with a strikeout of the league's best hitter, Matt Chavez, in the process.
So with another game on Sunday against the Pacifics and another need for a fireman, the Stompers turned to Conroy in the fifth inning with Chavez coming to the plate and a runner on. The first pitch to Chavez? A get-me-over slider that Chavez crushed for a two-run home run. Lesson learned. You can't try and steal a strike against the most dangerous hitter in the league.
Yet even after that hiccup, the rookie right-hander settled down in a big way, working out of trouble in both the eighth and the ninth right after solo homers by Isaac Wenrich and Joel Carranza gave the Stompers the lead. On the ninth pitch to Jeremy Williams with the tying run in scoring position, one of Conroy's patented sliders got the job done, as Williams swung over the top of it to end the game and hand both the weekend series and the weeklong series to the Stompers with a 6-5 victory.
Sonoma (6-3 2nd half, 32-14 overall) saw a complete reversal of fortune this week compared to two weeks ago, when a weeklong series against the Pacifics netted them five of seven games with losses, including a week-ending doubleheader loss. Coming into the weekend, Sonoma had won only one time at Albert Park in five previous trips.
After the loss on Friday night, it was looking like more of the same for the Stompers, as San Rafael (3-6, 22-25) took care of business and sent the Stompers to an 11-4 loss. Sonoma had a much different outlook on Saturday and used a record-breaking offensive performance to even the series coming into Sunday.
Sonoma's offense was doing just fine for itself thanks to a patient approach at the plate in the early going. Against Pacifics starter Max Beatty, the Stompers waited Beatty out and kept working counts, and the second time through against Beatty, the bats woke up and brought the team back from a 2-0 deficit. Two runs in the third inning came from eight different batters that drew 44 pitches against Beatty in the inning.
They got two more in the fourth with a similar approach to take a 4-3 lead, driving Beatty from the game with 118 pitches thrown in only four innings. That was about the time where Conroy made his entrance in relief of Paul Hvozdovic. After Chavez's homer, Conroy (4-1) didn't allow another run the rest of the way, getting out of two major jams late in the game to wrap things up for Sonoma.
After Jake Taylor reached on a two-base fielding error and got moved to third with one out, Conroy had to bear down in a strikeout situation. He did exactly that, striking out Johnny Bekakis and David Kiriakos for a huge end to the eighth.
In the ninth, there's an argument that the Pacifics might have beat themselves. Zack Pace drew a leadoff walk, and with Chavez on deck, Danny Gonzalez bunted him over with a sacrifice, leaving first base open with one out. It was an easy decision for Sonoma to intentionally walk Chavez and pitch to Maikel Jova instead, taking the bat out of the team's best hitter. Jova offered at the first pitch and flew out lazily to center field for the second out, setting the stage for the showdown with Williams.
Williams had already driven in three runs on the day and kept fouling pitches off against Conroy. On a 1-2 pitch, Conroy threw one of his sliders down and away that drew a check swing from Williams that Sonoma thought should have ended the game, but was called a non-swing instead. Once the count got full, Conroy came through with a slider that Williams swung right over the top of for the strikeout, drawing a huge fist pump from Conroy and yet another game-ending hug from Wenrich.
Sonoma's offense was paced by Carranza (2-for-4, HR, 15-game hitting streak) and Wenrich (2-for-3, HR, 3 RBI, 2 BB) with Matt Hibbert going 2-for-5 with two runs scored. Gered Mochizuki was held hitless, ending his 13-game hitting streak.
The Stompers hold a one game lead over the Pittsburg Diamonds in the second half standings, and they will begin a weeklong series with the Diamonds on Tuesday with the start of a three game series in Pittsburg. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. with the radio broadcast beginning at 6:50.
