By Jordan Kimball, Beat Writer
The Stompers’ offense was silent Friday, tallying just one hit in their 1-0 loss to the Arroyo Seco Saints.
McCann Libby came to the plate with one out in the bottom of the ninth; Landon Akers stood on first. It was a pulse in a game so lifeless. On Saints pitcher Andrew Citron’s first offering, Libby took a strike outside. Pitch No. 2 came around as another strike low and away.
Libby stepped out of the box and rearranged his batting gloves. He stepped back in and tapped the plate with the bat’s end. The Stompers needed a hit; it was as simple as that. They had to keep the line moving, something they hadn’t done. The next pitch, a fastball slightly outside, rang Libby up. Akers was on the move.
Arroyo Seco catcher Matthew Mainord jumped up from his squat and one-hopped second baseman Keon Moseni, who tagged Akers on his headfirst slide into second. It was a strike ‘em out, throw ‘em out to end the game, a fitting finish to a contest where Sonoma (12-9, 9-7 CCL) tallied just one hit in its 1-0 loss to the Saints Friday.
“You can’t expect to win many ballgames when you have one hit,” Stompers manager Zack Pace said postgame. “That’s the bottom line. (The Saints) had some good arms, we didn’t hit the ball today and that’s what happens.”
Sonoma entered Friday’s matchup against Arroyo Seco with the upper hand. It had a better record. It was at Arnold Field. And it was coming off a commanding 8-1 victory over the Philippines from the day before.
The Stompers were never down badly Friday, yet Pace said postgame it felt like his squad was trailing by seven or eight runs. They nearly matched the Saints in all categories, but they couldn’t get the bat on the ball, the ultimate deciding factor in the defeat.
Sonoma had one more error and one fewer walk and strikeout. But it lost the hit battle 9-1. And the Stompers’ lone knock came in the first inning, when Nic Sebastiani grounded a single past the outstretched dive of Saints shortstop Jax Ryan.
After Sebastiani’s base hit, it was a duel between Arroyo Seco and Sonoma’s pitching staffs. Biola University lefty Luke Ballantyne had been one of the Saints’ strongest arms. He had earned a win in his first CCL appearance on June 8 against PBG and hadn’t allowed a run in his six innings entering Friday.
His tear continued. Ballantyne’s surrendered hit to Sebastiani was his lone baserunner. And after shutting down Akers and Libby on strikes, he cruised through the rest of the Stompers’ order. Ballantyne ended with five strikeouts and no free passes in three innings.
His success mainly stemmed from his command. He threw 30 of his 46 pitches for strikes, a 65.2% clip. Sonoma’s often relied on control issues to reach base and score soon after via a wild pitch or passed balls. With Ballantyne painting the zone, it had to look elsewhere for offense.
“We gotta find a way to grind it out and be tougher,” Pace said. “Find a way to get on base, win those at-bats and get a guy in.”
On the Stompers’ side, David Howard got the nod. He hadn’t pitched more than 3.1 innings until Friday. But against the Saints, Howard went five innings, marking the third straight game Sonoma’s starter pitched to at least that point.
Howard’s stuff was on fleek each time he was on the bump. He notched seven strikeouts and allowed just four hits. Arroyo Seco only hit .205 against him, as Howard built off his best outing — two innings with five strikeouts — from June 14 against the Legends.
However, Howard’s work was shadowed by the disarray at the dish for the Stompers. Sonoma had a runner in scoring position in just the first and eighth innings. Brady Shannon was ejected in the fifth inning for arguing strike calls. Connor Pawlowski made an errant throw that scored the Saints’ lone run.
And even with the Stompers’ bullpen of Cole Pacheco, Patrick Richardson and Brandon Leon allowing zero earned runs over the final four innings, their bats were silent, capping a disappointing 1-0 loss to end Sonoma’s two-game win streak.
“We don’t need to do anything extra,” Pace said. “It’s just about staying within yourself and trying not to do too much.”
The Stompers will host the Menlo Park Legends at Arnold Field on Saturday, looking to return to the win column. First pitch is set for 6:05 p.m.