THIRD STRAIGHT WALK-OFF BRINGS STOMPERS ONE GAME WITHIN FIRST

Eddie Mora-Loera celebrates with his teammates after the Sonoma Stompers’ walk-off win in their game against the San Rafael Pacifics, July 31, 2018 in Sonoma, Calif. (James W. Toy III / Sonoma Stompers)

SONOMA, Calif. – For the third straight game, the Sonoma Stompers walked off on their opponents, the victim Tuesday being the San Rafael Pacifics in a 7-6 battle in 10 innings.

The Stompers roared out to an early lead with three home runs helping plate five runs over the first four innings.

Rob DeAngelis had the first round-tripper, a two-run shot in the first inning that scored Marcus Bradley, his second homer of the year.

Celebrating his 28th birthday, Daniel Baptista connected for a solo shot, his fourth home run of the year in the fourth inning and Mitchell Ho added his eighth of 2018, scoring Kevin Farley and giving the Stompers a 5-1 lead.

Both teams scored in the fifth and Baptista drove in his second run of the game to keep the Stompers ahead but San Rafael tied the score in the seventh inning, eventually forcing extra innings.

While the Pacifics could not score in the ninth or 10th, thanks to two shutout innings from Jacob Cox, the Stompers won in the bottom of the 10th when Eddie Mora-Loera pinch hit with the bases loaded, reaching on a fielder’s choice that scored Kenny Meimerstorf and won the game.

“Everyone was grinding hard today,” Mora-Loera said. “They asked me to come in and try and get the job. With baseball being the way it is, sometimes it is hit hard and caught, sometimes you don’t hit it hard and win the game.”

Tuesday’s contest was the Stompers’ eighth extra-inning affair of the season and eighth walk-off win of the year, representing almost half of the team’s home wins in 2018.

San Rafael and Sonoma play each other again Wednesday with the Stompers just one game back of the first-place Pacifics. First pitch is set for 6:05 p.m.

STOMPERS WALK OFF AGAIN TO SWEEP DIAMONDS

Miles William (18) celebrates his walk-off home run in the Sonoma Stompers game against the Pittsburg Diamonds, July 29, 2018 in Sonoma, Calif. (James W. Toy III / Sonoma Stompers)

SONOMA, Calif. – Just like they did Saturday night, the Sonoma Stompers walked off on the Pittsburg Diamonds Sunday afternoon on Miles Williams’ 17th home run of the season, for a 11-9 final.

Williams, Kam Stewart and Rayson Romero each had multi-hit games while Williams, Romero and Rob DeAngelis each drove in more than one run.

Pittsburg scored three runs in the first inning and for the exception of one-half inning, held on to that lead into the ninth inning.

While Sonoma’s pitching struggled into the sixth inning, allowing nine runs, Robert Maislin and Ryan Richardson combined to retire the final 10 Diamonds hitters in the game.

Daniel Baptista singled in Marcus Bradley in the first inning and Stewart homered in the second, which was followed up by a two-RBI single from DeAngelis.

Williams singled in Romero in the fourth and the Stompers added three runs in the seventh on singles from Williams and Romero to bring the team within one.

Sonoma’s right fielder and second basemen continued to lead the way in the ninth when Romero singled to tie the game at nine and Williams ended it with a two-run blast to left field.

“There were a bunch of at-bats today where I got to 3-2 count and I feel pretty confident in that count,” Romero said. “Just a credit to this team and the support I have from them.”

With the Stompers now winners of five in a row for the third time this season and 18 of their last 22 games, they turn their attention to the first place San Rafael Pacifics, who come to Palooza Park at Arnold Field for two games. First pitch Tuesday and Wednesday is slated for 6:05 p.m.

PENNGROVE NATIVE COMSTOCK SECOND STOMPER PROMOTED IN 2018

SONOMA, Calif. – The Sonoma Stompers are excited to announce that catcher Daniel Comstock has been promoted to the Frontier League’s Southern Illinois Miners and will be joining them immediately.

Comstock was in his second season with the Stompers, his first as the team’s everyday catcher.

“Daniel is the type of player that every organization needs,” general manager Brett Creamer said. “His dedication, leadership and work ethic is extraordinary. He comes to work every day with the same mindset to get better, and it's shown on the field.”

After 197 at-bats with Sonoma, Comstock heads to a higher level of independent baseball with the Pacific Association’s third-best batting average at .365. He also hit nine home runs while driving in 53 runs, also third in the league.

“It’s bittersweet. I love Sonoma, but we play this game move on, to the highest level we can,” Comstock said. “I love all of the guys here, I appreciate Brett and Zack for giving me an opportunity and am excited to go out to the Frontier League and keep getting better.”

The Penngrove, California native was also tied for fifth in the league in walks with 36, tied with two of his Stomper teammates.

Comstock returns to Southern Illinois after spending 2017 Spring Training with the Miners.

“The amount of time that Daniel has put into his hometown team, the community and his teammates will always be more appreciated than any number or average that he has put up. We'll miss him in Sonoma, but we're thrilled for his upcoming opportunity with the Miners. I know he's looking forward to this opportunity and has some unfinished business to take care of.”

MARCUS BRADLEY AND STOMPERS WALK OFF DIAMONDS

Marcus Bradley had a walk-off single in the Sonoma Stompers game against the Pittsburg Diamonds, July 28, 2018 in Sonoma, Calif. (James W. Toy III / Sonoma Stompers)

BOX SCORE

SONOMA, Calif. – Now winners of 17 of their last 21 games, the Sonoma Stompers walked off on the Pittsburg Diamonds Saturday night for their fourth straight win, a 4-3 final.

While the Diamonds struck first, the Stompers countered by jumping out to an early 3-1 lead. Mitchell Ho hit his seventh home run of the season and Miles Williams scored after a Daniel Comstock single in the third and Ho added another run with a single in the fourth.

Ho went 4-5 in the game with three singles, a home run and two RBI.

“I had a little change of approach, attacking more,” Ho said. “I’ve been a little too passive lately and I decided to come out swinging.”

Kam Stewart also had three singles in the game and the Stompers finished with 12 hits on the day.

Pittsburg tied the game at three in the seventh off Vijay Patel, who pitched 6.1 innings with four hits and three runs allowed, along with six strikeouts.

Ryan Richardson and D.J. Sharabi combined to hold Pittsburg scoreless over the remaining 3.2 innings, on just two hits and one walk with five combined strikeouts.

The Stompers loaded the bases with one out in the 10th inning and a single from Marcus Bradley, his first hit of the game, scored Kam Stewart to win the game 4-3.

“I got ahead of the count, he threw two balls so I was looking for something that I could hit at that point,” Bradley said. “I knew that even if I did hit it somewhere, they weren’t going to turn the double play so I just needed to put the ball in play.”

The Stompers return to action Sunday against the Diamonds with first pitch scheduled for 1:05 p.m.

STOMPERS PLATE 13 IN SWEEP OVER NAPA

Kevin Farley watches his home run leave the ballpark  in the Sonoma Stompers game against the Napa Silverados, July 27, 2018 in Napa, Calif. (James W. Toy III / Sonoma Stompers)

BOX SCORE

NAPA, Calif. – As it has in much of the last several weeks, the Sonoma Stompers offense once again supported the team, as the Stompers won for the 33rd time in 2018 with a 13-7 win over the Napa Silverados.

Four Stompers recorded two or more hits, four Stompers scored more than one run and three Stompers drove in multiple runs over the nine innings.

Sonoma began its scoring in the fourth inning with a single run and added at least two in each of the following innings.

Kevin Farley connected for his fifth home run in the season in the fifth inning to score Kam Stewart and give the Stompers a 3-0 lead. The homer was his first of three hits on the night, first of three runs scored and the first two of his three RBI on the night.

“Just like any other day, I was trying to get a good pitch to hit and put as good of a swing as I can on it,” Farley said. “I got a couple of pitches that were in my zone and got barrell to it. Sometimes, that’s all it really is, put barrell to it. Don’t do too much more than that and have success.”

While Napa responded with six runs in the bottom of the fifth and added an additional one in the sixth, Sonoma failed to let that deter them.

With the Silverados leading 7-5 heading to the seventh inning, the Stompers scored eight runs over the final three innings to not only take the lead in the seventh inning, but add insurance for a comfortable six-run win.

Daniel Comstock’s two-run single with two outs in the seventh inning was the difference and provided the momentum needed to carry the team through the end of the game.

Ty’Relle Harris relieved starter Kenny Mathews in the fifth and pitched the remainder of the game, one of his best outings of the year. The right-hander in his 10th year of professional baseball allowed just one run and four hits over the final 4.1 innings for his first win of the season. He also struck out six batters while not allowing any walks.

“When you stay simple, you get good results so I tried to stay simple today,” Harris said. “Sometimes I’m a high-energy guy and that can play against me sometimes. If I don’t have it, I try and create the energy sometimes. Sometimes I need to take the other approach, the ABC’s of baseball. Get ahead, stay ahead and try and work down.”

Now winners of three straight, as well as 16 of their last 20 games, the Stompers return home for four against the Pittsburg Diamonds and San Rafael Pacifics.

STOMPERS SCORE IN NINTH TO WIN MARATHON GAME

Marcus Bradley follows through on his ninth-inning single before scoring the deciding run in the Sonoma Stompers game against the Napa Silverados, July 26, 2018 in Napa, Calif. (James W. Toy III / Sonoma Stompers)

BOX SCORE

NAPA, Calif. – The game took four hours and 14 minutes, but the Sonoma Stompers edged out the Napa Silverados 6-5 Thursday night.

After two innings of a 5-5 tie, Marcus Bradley scored on an error to put his team ahead, the 13th error of the game between the two teams.

Sonoma scored first and at one point, held a 4-0 lead. Five hits in the third plated three runs, including RBI doubles from Miles Williams and Daniel Comstock, as well as a runs-scoring single from Daniel Baptista.

Rob DeAngelis singled in the fourth to score one more run, his first of two hits on the day. Five different players had multi-hit nights, including Bradley, Williams, DeAngelis, Comstock and Kevin Farley.

The top four hitters in the order combined to go 8-18 with three of the team’s four runs batted in.

After Napa tied the game, D.J. Sharabi entered the ballgame to throw two scoreless innings and keep the score knotted at five.

“To compliment my sinker, I was going with my slider a lot, cutter and slider.” Sharabi said. “Just trying to work both sides of the plate, that definitely helped me out today,”

Despite loading the bases with no outs in the bottom of the eighth, Sharabi induced a double play and recorded his second strikeout of the game to get out of the jam.

After Bradley scored in the ninth, Jacob Cox locked down his 17th save of the year in his 18th attempt, bringing him within one of the league’s single-season record with 31 games left on the 2018 schedule.

ARNOLD FIELD VOICE RECEIVES CALL-UP TO SACRAMENTO

SONOMA, Calif. – The Sonoma Stompers are excited to announce that the team’s public address announcer, Trey Dunia has accepted a job in the same capacity with the Sacramento River Cats, Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants.

Dunia has been with the Stompers since their second season in 2015 and has since become well-known for his quick wit not only on the microphone, but with sound effects throughout the speakers of Arnold Field as well.

“Trey has brought so much joy to the Stompers and to the community of Sonoma County these past four seasons. His easygoing personality really transitions well over the mic and provides for quality fan entertainment,” general manager Brett Creamer said. “I am very excited for him as he continues to chase his dream of announcing in professional sports. The River Cats are a class act, and I am glad they are giving Trey this well deserved opportunity. “

A member of the National Association of Sports Public Address Announcers, he is also the voice of the SRJC Bear Cubs, The North Bay Rattlers, Analy High School's Flying Tigers and the Redwood Pal Golden Bears.

After being a finalist for the position multiple times, Dunia was asked to fill in at Sacramento’s Raley Field for two games during a Stompers road trip and subsequently was offered the position for the remainder of the season.

“It was a great experience, to announce baseball for the Triple-A Giants,” Dunia said. “I can’t do all of them, but I’ve got a plan. I’m going to do most of the Stompers games left on the schedule and most of the River Cats games left on the schedule.”

Eleven of the final 16 home games this season will be announced by Dunia.

GIBBONS TIES STRIKEOUT RECORD AS STOMPERS BLANK CLIPPERS

Ethan Gibbons delivers a pitch in the second inning of the Sonoma Stompers’ game against the Martinez Clippers, July 26, 2018 in Martinez, Calif. (James W. Toy III / Sonoma Stompers)

MARTINEZ, Calif. – The Sonoma Stompers rebounded well after being shut out Tuesday with a shutout of their own Wednesday, as Ethan Gibbons delivered his best start of the season to lead the Stompers to a 8-0 win over the Martinez Clippers.

Making his 10th start of the season, Gibbons dominated all night long, allowing just five hits and one walk while striking out 12 batters. His strikeout total tied the Stompers record for strikeouts in a game by one pitcher, a mark that had been met five previous times, most recently by 2017 Pacific Association Pitcher of the Year Tyler Garkow on  July 14, 2017.

For the first time this season, Gibbons pitched eight full innings, issuing his only walk of the game in his final inning of work.

“I’m glad we were able to get the shutout and get the win,” Gibbons said. “Today I finally found my changeup, it’s the last pitch that comes when you’re getting back into a season and today I was able to find that and able to throw my fastball a lot of that and it worked well for me.”

It took a couple of innings for the Stompers’ bats to get rolling, but they did in the fourth when Kenny Meimerstorf connected for his 15th home run of the season, a two-run shot that scored Daniel Comstock.

Miles Williams singled home Marcus Bradley in the sixth, then Sonoma added insurance in the ninth inning. The Stompers showed patience and drew five walks to score five runs and stretch their lead to 8-0.

Now 31-17 on the season and winners of 14 of their last 18 games, the Stompers look to stay hot as they take on the Napa Silverados for two games beginning Thursday.

STOMPERS SHUT OUT FOR FIRST TIME IN 2018

Kenny Meimerstorf watches his double land down the right field line in the Sonoma Stompers’ game against the Martinez Clippers, July 24, 2018 in Martinez, Calif. (James W. Toy III / Sonoma Stompers)

BOX SCORE

MARTINEZ, Calif. – After the Sonoma Stompers best offensive weekend of the season unfolded in Vallejo, with 11-5 and 13-12 wins, the bats fell silent Tuesday against the Martinez Clippers, who shut out the Stompers for the first time this season, 2-0.

Juan Espinosa made his ninth start of the season, possibly his best so far in 2018, but the lack of run support caused him to take his first loss of the year.

Six hits over the first two innings resulted in two Clippers runs, but Espinosa held Martinez silent after the second with five shutout innings over his final five innings. The right-hander did not walk a batter in seven innings and struck out six.

Ryan Richardson’s perfect eighth inning was enough to keep Sonoma in the ballgame, but the Stompers could only manage four hits in the game, none of which translated to runs.

Mitchell Ho and Marcus Bradley singled in the fifth, then Daniel Comstock and Kenny Meimerstorf reached base in the eighth with hits, but that was all the team could muster in nine innings.

Bradley’s single extended his hit streak to five games, the longest active such streak for Stomper hitters. Comstock’s stretch of 13 straight games with a hit earlier this year is still the longest this season, however the catcher has reached base in 42 consecutive games with his single.

The Stompers and Clippers rematch Wednesday as Sonoma looks for a series split, 6:30 is the scheduled first pitch.

STOMPERS COME BACK FROM TEN VALLEJO RUNS, WIN 13-12

(James W. Toy III / Sonoma Stompers)

VALLEJO, Calif. – The Sonoma Stompers tied their single-game record for runs scored this season with 13 as they topped the Vallejo Admirals in a come-from-behind 13-12 victory Sunday.

After five Sonoma hitters had multi-hit games Saturday, four recorded more than two Sunday and Marcus Bradley led the way at the top of the lineup with four. Bradley drove in four runs on the afternoon and scored three, while Daniel Comstock drove in five runs on two hits in the winning effort.

“We grinded out a whole nine,” Comstock said. “Collectively, we did a fantastic job today.”

Sonoma’s offense exploded early, with three big hits scoring six runs over the first three innings. Comstock crushed his ninth home run of the season in the first to score Miles Williams, Bradley singled in two in the second and Mitchell Ho singled in two in the third.

Despite Vallejo scoring 10 runs between the third and fifth innings, Sonoma refused to give up, scoring at least once in each of the remaining frames.

Bradley hit his first home run of the season in the sixth to score Rayson Romero and Kam Stewart’s solo home run in the seventh, his eighth homer of the season, brought the Stompers within one run.

“One through nine, we’re solid,” Bradley said of the Stompers’ offense Sunday. “We can put up runs at any point, anybody can hit. We looked at the scoreboard, we knew we had plenty of time to come back.”

Kenny Meimerstorf tied the game in the eighth inning with a double that scored Bradley and gave Sonoma a chance to take the lead, which it did in the ninth.

The Stompers loaded the bases with two outs and Comstock emptied them, doubling to give his team the lead 13-10.

“I was just looking to hit something hard that at-bat, not trying to do too much,” Comstock said. “[Admirals pitcher Brett Schneider] gave me a pitch over the plate I could handle and I hit it hard.”

Cole Watts pitched perfect seventh and eighth innings to set up the door for the Stompers to storm back and put Jacob Cox in a position to earn his 16th save of the season.

Vallejo tagged Cox for two runs in the ninth, but the right-hander held on to pick up his 16th save, furthering his lead in the league. He now has 10 more than the next closest closer in the Pacific Association and stands two saves away from tying the league’s single-season record of 18, set by Vallejo's Sammy Gervacio last season.

After an off day Monday, Sonoma travels to Martinez for games against the Clippers Tuesday and Wednesday, then Napa to face the Silverados Thursday and Friday.