GOTTA’S KEEN EYE LEADS TO STOMPERS FIRST WALK-OFF OF 2019

SONOMA, Calif- The Sonoma Stompers broke their 3-game losing streak to the Napa Silverados on Thursday night in walk-off fashion when Nick Gotta worked a walk-off walk to beat Napa 7-6.

Napa used their creativity on the base paths in the top of the first inning to get on the board against Stompers right-hander Konner Arnold (5-3). Justin Byrd led off the game with a single and stole 2 bases, including home, on a lackadaisical throw back to the pitcher to put Napa up 1-0.

The Silverados scored once again in the top of the 2nd inning on a Jake Marshall broken bat single into left to score Jordan Garr and make it 2-0 Napa.

The Stompers finally got to the 6’ 7” Napa starter Sean Johnson (2-5) in the bottom of the 3rd inning. Gotta singled to lead off the inning. Johnson then hit Matt Hibbert and walked Chris Kwitzer to load the bases. Back-to-back strikeouts put the Stompers in a hole but Rob DeAngelis singled past a diving Montelongo at first base to bring home a pair of runs and tie the game 2-2. With men at the corners and 2 out, Johnson’s wild pitch allowed Kwitzer to score as the Stompers took a 3-2 lead. 

Napa scored twice more in the top of the 5th inning after Byrd and Salas collected back-to-back singles to open the inning. Montelongo drove in a run with a single to tie the game and Nicco Toni put Napa ahead when he grounded into a 5-4-3 double play to give Napa a 4-3 lead. 

Arnold pitched into the 6th inning but failed to record an out after loading the bases. He went 5 innings while allowing 5 runs, 4 earned, on 8 hits and struck out 5. Willie Ethington (3-0) was the first man out of the bullpen for Zack Pace. 

Ethington did walk in a run to extend the Napa lead 5-3 in the top of the 6th inning. After getting 2 quick outs in the 7th, Ethington allowed back-to-back hits and an error by Kwitzer at third base allowed Napa to load the bases and forced Pace to make another change, going to the sidearm right-hander out of the pen.

Marshall Shill came on and got Jake Marshall to groundout to shortstop to end the inning without allowing another run. 

Hibbert and Kwitzer notched back-to-back singles to open the bottom of the 7th inning against Napa reliever Andrew Fernandez before Brent Gillespie singled to bring home a run, bringing the Stompers within 1 run, 5-4.

Napa got the run back in the top of the 8th inning, stealing home for the second time in the game. This time, William Salas took advantage of the mental lapse by Ethan Gibbons (2-2) and Bronson Butcher to steal a run and go back up 6-4. 

Kyle Chavez came in for Napa out of the bullpen in the bottom of the 8th inning to try and hold the lead. After a quick first out, he allowed a single to Bronson Butcher who then went to second base on a throwing error by Sean Jackson in centerfield. A walk to Rayson Romero put 2 men on for Gotta who singled down the left field line but Ultsch could not play the trick bounce as it got by him, allowing a run to score to make it 6-5 and allowing Romero to go to third and Gotta to go to second. Hibbert then singled softly into shallow right field to tie the game 6-6 and Gotta was thrown out at the plate trying to give the Stompers the lead. 

Entering the 9th inning tied 6-6, Pace pulled out all the stops, bringing in closer Ryan Richardson (1-0) who struck out the side to send the game to the bottom of the 9th tied. 

Rob Humes (2-3) the Napa closer then came on and got a quick strikeout to open the inning. DeAngelis worked a walk to put the winning run on base. Then, with Nick Kern at the plate, DeAngelis stole second and went to third on a throwing error by the catcher Marshall. With the winning run 90 feet away, Kern got the intentional pass to set up a potential double play. With runners at the corners and 1 out, Butcher struck out for the second out of the inning. It was up to Romero now to end the game or extend it. The right-handed batter worked an 8-pitch walk to load the bases for Gotta, the toughest man to retire in the Pacific Association, boasting a .545 on-base percentage. Gotta worked a 4-pitch walk to end the ball game, sending the home fans home happy, and giving the Stompers their first walk-off win of 2019.

The Stompers are back in action Friday night in San Rafael at 6:30. They enter the game with a 6.5 game lead over the Pacifics for 1st place. 

STOMPERS 9TH INNING COMEBACK FALLS JUST SHORT IN 11-10 LOSS TO SAN RAFAEL

SONOMA, Calif- The Sonoma Stompers welcomed the second place San Rafael Pacifics to Palooza Park at Arnold Field on Wednesday night. After a close game early on, San Rafael started to run away. Brent Gillespie’s big 3-run home run in the 9th made it a 1-run game but the Stompers could not come all the way back. 

San Rafael collected 4 hits in the bottom of the 1st inning off Stompers right-hander Nick Barnese(4-1), the big one a 2-run double off the bat of Axel Johnson to give the Pacifics a 2-0 lead.

After 2 quick outs in the bottom of the 1st inning, Chris Kwitzer drew a walk, setting the table for Brent Gillespie’s monster triple to straight-away centerfield, putting the Stompers on the board.  Miles Williams followed with a single to tie the game 2-2 after 1 inning. 

San Rafael regained the lead in the top of the 3rd inning on a Yeiler Peguero solo shot to right to make it 3-2. 

The Pacifics tacked on 2 more runs in the top of the 4th inning on a Mike Annone 2-run home run the other way, extending the San Rafael lead 5-2. 

Barnese exited the game after 5 innings, allowing 5 runs on 6 hits while striking out 6.

Willie Ethington (3-0) was first out of the bullpen for Zack Pace but he did not last long. Ethington allowed 4 hits but the defense collapsed, committing 2 errors on the way to a 4-run San Rafael 6th, growing the lead 9-2. 

The Stompers answered in the bottom half of the inning, scoring 3 runs with help from a wild pitch, an error, and a Rob DeAngelis RBI groundout to inch the Stompers closer, 9-5.

San Rafael added 2 more runs in the top of the 7th inning on a Jacob Columbo 2-run single, putting the Stomper deficit at 11-5.

Kwitzer led off the bottom of the 7thinning with a walk and Miles Williams launched his 9th home run of the season, to bring the Stompers closer 11-7.

Jailen Peguero, the San Rafael closer, entered the game for the bottom of the 9th inning just one day after allowing the walk off home run to Napa’s Nicco Toni. 

Peguero struck out Nick Gotta to open the inning but allowed back-to-back singles to Matt Hibbert and Kwitzer to breathe some air back into the Stompers balloon. On a 1-2 count, Gillespie annihilated a 3-run homer to right-center field to bring the Stompers within 1, 11-10. Williams walked to put the tying run on base but back-to-back strikeouts ended the Stompers threat as they fell 1 run short. 

The Stompers are home again on Thursday night against the Napa Silverados at 6:05 at Palooza Park at Arnold Field. 

MATT HIBBERT RETURNS TO STOMPERS, SPARKS 7-RUN 7TH INNING IN ROUTE TO 8-2 WIN

SONOMA, Calif- The Sonoma Stompers opened up the first of 8-straight games at home Tuesday night against the Salina Stockade, who led for most of the ballgame until the Stompers rallied late.

Joseph Broderick (3-0) took the ball for Zack Pace and tossed his most effective start of the season. 

After a 1-out single by Nick Crouse in the top of the 3rd inning, Cody Bishop pulled his 8th home run of the season out of the park to right field to give Salina an early 2-0 lead. 

Broderick came out of the game after tossing 7 innings, allowing just the 2-run homer on 4 hits while striking out 8. He left the game trailing 2-0, but the offense came to life to earn him the win. 

Eric Gleese (1-6) took the mound for Salina and turned in his best start of the year, holding the Stompers hitless through the first 4 innings. Gleese allowed back-to-back singles to Matt Hibbert and Bronson Butcher and he walked Rayson Romero to load the bases before exiting the game for reliever Max Biedrzycki.

With the bases loaded and nobody out, Nick Gotta bounced into a fielder’s choice to drive in the first Stomper run to cut into the lead 2-1. With runners at the corners and 1 out, Gotta stole second and Butcher scored on the throw down to tie the game 2-2. Jacob Barfield then singled to left to put runners back on the corners for Chris Kwitzer who gave the Stompers a 3-2 lead with a sacrifice fly to center. RBI singles by Miles Williams and Rob DeAngelis extended the lead while the Stompers also took advantage on a couple of wild pitches, as they inflated the lead to 7-2, scoring 7 times in the 7th inning.

Brent Gillespie drove in a run in the bottom of the 8th inning on a sacrifice fly for the final run as the Stompers beat the Stockade 8-2, scoring 8 unanswered runs. 

The Stompers are back home on Wednesday night against the 2nd place San Rafael Pacifics at 6:05 at Palooza Park at Arnold Field. 

STOMPERS PROMOTE CONNNOR LEEDHOLM TO SIOUX FALLS CANARIES

SONOMA, Calif- The Sonoma Stompers have promoted relief pitcher Connor Leedholm to the Sioux Falls Canaries of the American Association.

“We are so excited for Connor! He truly deserves this promotion and we are excited to follow him and his future career!” General Manager Brett Creamer said.

The Colorado native was in his second season of professional baseball and first with the Sonoma Stompers. He was signed on June 14, 2019 as a free agent.

In 19 innings, Leedholm struck out 17 while posting 3.31 ERA while his blazing fastball reached upwards of 97 MPH.  

Leedholm is the eighth Stomper promoted this season since spring training.

 “We love to see our players move on to the next level in their career. That’s what the Sonoma Stompers and the Pacific Association is all about,” Creamer said.

The players going quick so come and see your favorite Stompers tonight as they take on the San Rafael Pacifics at 6:05 PM.

To purchase Stompers tickets and to find more information about the team, visit stompersbaseball.com, call us at (707) 938-7277 or send an email to info@stompersbaseball.com.

STOMPERS ADD TO PACIFIC ASSOCIATION LEAD WITH 10-5 WIN IN SAN RAFAEL

SAN RAFAEL, Calif- On a Sunday matinee from Albert park, the Sonoma Stompers entered with a 4.5 game lead over 2nd place San Rafael and left with a 5.5 game lead after dominant pitching and clutch hitting. 

The Stompers wasted no time getting on the board in the top of the first inning against San Rafael starter Edward Perez (1-1). After 2 quick outs, Chris Kwitzer drew a walk and Brent Gillespie followed with a single to put a man in scoring position. With 2 strikes, Miles Williams singled through the right side of the infield, bringing Kwitzer home as the Stompers struck first, 1-0. 

A huge top of the 4thinning proved to be the difference early on when the Stompers accumulated 6 runs in the inning. Jacob Barfield led off the inning with his 11th blast of the season, a sky-scraper to left, making it 2-0. Bronson Butcher then walked and Rayson Romero doubled into he right field corner to put runners at first and second. With the infield pulled in, Nick Gotta brought both runs home with a 2-run knock, doubling the lead 4-0. Dondrei Hubbard followed the Gotta hit with a walk and Gillespie brought everybody home with a 3-run home run to right field, blowing it wide open 7-0.

San Rafael answered with 2 runs in the bottom half of the 4th inning off Stomper right-hander Jacob Cox (2-0), to put the Pacifics on the board 7-2.

The Pacifics got one more in the bottom of the 6th inning on a Corey Dempster solo home run, making the score 7-3.

San Rafael made it even closer in the bottom of the 7th inning scoring twice and making it just a 2-run game, 7-5.

The Stompers offense answered the call in the top of the 8th inning. Back-to-back, 1-out singles by Kwitzer and Gillespie set the table for a Williams RBI double and a Rob DeAngelis RBI groundout, extending the Stompers lead 9-5. 

Butcher capped off the afternoon with his second home run of the season, this one a moon shot to left field, giving the Stompers the 10-5 victory.

Cox tossed 6 innings while allowing 3 runs on 3 hits and striking out 2.

The Stompers are back home Tuesday night at 6:05 against the Salina Stockade.

STOMPERS PUT UP A DOZEN RUNS IN WIN OVER SALINA

SONOMA, Calif- The Sonoma Stompers scored double digits for the second game in a row in their 12-2 rout of Salina on Saturday night where they launched 5 home runs.

The Stompers got out to an early lead against Salina starter Ridge Ackerman (1-1) when Brent Gillespie doubled home a pair of runs in the bottom of the first inning, scoring Nick Gotta and Dondrei Hubbard to go ahead 2-0 early. 

The offense never slowed, and in what is likely his last home game as a Stompers, Hubbard took advantage of the warm night, hitting a 3-run blast to right-center field, taking on to bring the score to 5-0. 

Home runs were the theme of the night, after the Stompers improv home run derby the night before. Solo home runs by Miles Williams in the 3rd and Hubbard’s second of the game in the 4th extended the lead to 7-0. 

Salina finally cracked the scoreboard in the top of the 5th inning against Stomper starter Vijay Patel (5-1), when Nick Crouse unloaded a solo shot to left-center to out the Stockade on the board 7-1.

Rob DeAngelis joined the party in the bottom of the 5th inning with a solo shot of his own to make it 8-1, while for the first time this year the Stompers scored at least 1 run in each of the first 5 innings. 

Salina got one more back in the top of the 6th inning. Cody Bishop doubled with one out and scored on a pair of wild pitches, narrowing the gap to 8-2.

Patel tossed 7 innings while allowing just the 2 runs on 4 hits and he struck out 5.

In the bottom of the 7th inning, a hit-by-pitch to Gillespie and a walk to Williams set up a Jacob Barfield RBI single to left, extending the lead to 9-2. With 2 men on, Bronson Butcher went the other way to right field for his first homer of the season, a 3-run shot, upping the routing to 12-2.

Pat Barnett and Ryan Richardson slammed the door in the 8th and 9th, giving the Stompers their 20th home win, and improving their record to 29-11. 

The Stompers are on the road on Sunday afternoon against 2ndplace San Rafael at 1:00pm. 

STOMPERS PROMOTE HOME RUN AND RBI LEADER TO LAKE ERIE

SONOMA, Calif- The Sonoma Stompers have promoted outfielder and 2019 Pacific Association Most Valuable Player Candidate to Lake Erie Crushers of the Frontier League.

“We’re excited for Dondrei, and he’s extremely worthy of this promotion. He was the triple crown batting leader for an extended period of time this season,” said General Manager Brett Creamer.

The Houston, Texas native leads the league in home runs (16), and RBIs (55) in just 41 games played. Hubbard also holds a .364 average with 45 runs scored, 11 doubles, and seven stolen bases.

“Hubbard did everything we asked him to do and more, he’s competed and thrived from day one of spring training” said Creamer.

The Mayville State two-sport athlete also has professional experience in Australia, Europe and Czech Republic. In 2019, the Sonoma Stompers were Hubbard’s first professional experience in the United States.

Hubbard’s promotion is the Stompers’ sixth this season since spring training. “That’s what we’re about here, to move our players on and replenish our team with the best available talent,” said Creamer.

To purchase Stompers tickets and to find more information about the team, visit stompersbaseball.com, call us at (707) 938-7277 or send an email to info@stompersbaseball.com.

STOMPERS SCORE 10 IN THE 3RD INNING IN 14-4 WHOOPING OF SALINA

SONOMA, Calif- The Sonoma Stompers looked to get back on track after an off day and the offense did not disappoint, scoring 2 touchdowns on the Salina pitching staff. 

Konner Arnold (5-3) cruised through 7 innings with plenty of offensive fire-power behind him, pitching with cushion all night.

The Stompers jumped on Salina right-hander Phil Rowland (0-2) early in the bottom of the 1st inning. Nick Gotta led off the inning with a single and came around to score on Brent Gillespie’s 2-out double. Rob DeAngelis doubled the lead 2-0 with an RBI hit to put the Stompers out to an early lead. 

Daniel Molinari led off the bottom of the 2nd inning with a walk and Dondrei Hubbard snapped an 0-12 skid with an RBI single to center to add on another, 3-0. 

Salina jumped on Arnold in the top of the 3rd inning. An error and a double put 2 men in scoring position for Justin Byrd who singled them both home to tighten the score 3-2. 

The Stompers broke it open in the bottom of the 3rd inning scoring 10 times! The most runs they’ve scored in an inning this year. The first 9 men of the inning reached 8 of them scored before the first out was recorded. The Stompers had the bases jammed all inning and got an RBI single from DeAngelis, RBI walks from Molinari, Rayson Romero, Gotta, an 2-run double from Hubbard, a 2-run single by Chris Kwitzer, and DeAngelis capped off the inning with a 2-run blast as the Stompers went ahead 13-2.

Molinari tacked on his 3rd walk of the game in the bottom of the 6th inning and later scored when Kwitzer reached on a fielder’s choice to bring the score to 14-2. 

Jacob Woehler led off the top of the 7th inning with a walk and Cosimo Cannella launched his 5th home run, bringing the Stockade within 10, 14-4.

Arnold finished 7 innings allowing 7 hits and striking out 7, earning his 1stwin of the month of July.

Willie Ethington (3-0) and new reliever Austin Orvis tossed scoreless 8th and 9th innings to solidify the win and improve the Stompers record to 28-11 and give them a 4-game lead in the Pacific Association. 

STOMPERS FALL TO NAPA IN THE LATE INNINGS, 4-3

SONOMA, Calif- The Sonoma Stompers opened the week at home against the Napa Silverados. The Stompers took the lead late but a 2-run homer by Josh Montelongo in the 8th propelled Napa to the win.

Nick Barnese (4-0) tossed a flawless 6 innings in Tuesday night’s game. 

Willie Salas led off the game with a home run (4) against Barnese to put Napa up 1-0.

Nick Gotta opened the home half of the 1st inning with his 3rd homer on the season off Napa right-hander Sam Curtis (5-1), tying the game 1-1.

 After a 2-out walk to Dominic Bethancourt in the top of the 2nd inning, Salas knocked him in with an RBI single to give Napa the lead back 2-1. 

Barnese settled down and had his best start of the year as he only allowed the 2 hits through 6 innings while striking out 11 and touching 96mph multiple times an 97mph once. 

The Stompers took the lead in the bottom of the 6th inning. Gotta drew a 1-out walk and Chris Kwitzer singled to set the table for Brent Gillespie who floated an RBI single into center to tie the game 2-2. Kwitzer went to third on the hit and later scored on Devontae Glenn’s wild pitch to give the Stompers a 3-2 lead. 

Ethan Gibbons (2-2) cruised through a 1-2-3 7th inning, handing the ball to set-up man Connor Leedholm 0-2).

Leedholm walked Dakota Conners and then allowed a monster 2-run shot to Montelongo to give Napa a 4-3 lead in the top of the 8th. 

The Stompers loaded the bases in the 9th but could not mount a comeback, falling by a score of 4-3 and dropping to 27-11 on the season.

The Stompers are back in action at Palooza Park at Arnold Field on Thursday night at 6:05 vs the Salina Stockade. 

NEWEST STOMPER FAUE LEAVES FOR FLORENCE WITHIN FIRST 48 HOURS

SONOMA, Calif- The Sonoma Stompers have sent left-handed pitcher George Faue to the Florence Freedom of the Frontier League.

“It was a very quick turnaround for us and George, we wish him the best with Florence,” GM Brett Creamer said. They lefty from Minnesota flew to California and pitched one scoreless inning for the Stompers before getting the call from Florence.

Faue, who spent just less than 48 hours with the Sonoma Stompers will now travel to Chicago where the Florence Freedom will take on the Windy City Thunderbolts, and former Sonoma Stomper Kenny Matthews.

The Nortern Illinois alumnus will be joining his fourth team of the 2019 season. He started the season with the Monterey Amberjacks of the Pecos League, then the Sioux Falls Canaries of the American Association, the Sonoma Stompers of the Pacific Association and now the Florence Freedom of the Frontier League.

“Baseball is a crazy game and you have to always be ready for anything,” said GM Brett Creamer.

To purchase Stompers tickets and to find more information about the team, visit stompersbaseball.com, call us at (707) 938-7277 or send an email to info@stompersbaseball.com.