The Crawdads tallied more hits and capitalized on the Stompers’ lone error to defeat them 4-2 on Tuesday.
By Jordan Kimball, Beat Writer
Momentum is essential in all sports, but in baseball, it can make or break a season. Coaches often emphasize keeping the line moving at the plate. They drill into their team how crucial it is to let go of mistakes out in the field. Stompers manager Zack Pace echoes that sentiment, stressing the importance of energy in the dugout and its translation to performance.
Pace preaches not letting one bad play turn into a second. Whether Sonoma’s up five or down five, he wants his squad to keep the same competitive spirit. That was displayed Tuesday against Walnut Creek, where Trent Keys replaced first baseman Paul Lizzul due to his poor plate presence.
Anthony Scheppler — who’s struggled as of late — was kept out of the starting lineup Sunday so Ben Sebastiani could get a chance at third base. Changes like these sometimes build positive momentum. Other times, they backfire.
On Tuesday at Monte Vista High School, the Stompers (14-10, 11-8 CCL) fell 4-2 to the Crawdads. Despite making three substitutions, Pace struggled to crack the code to Sonoma’s overall rhythm.
“Just (need to) control what we can control,” Pace said postgame. “The umpires try to do their job. I’m trying to coach. The player’s job is to play… just gotta do the little things right.”
After winning Sunday’s matinee matchup with the Crawdads, Sonoma was in the driver’s seat. It showcased a lively offense with 10 runs in the first six innings. Its pitching staff struggled at times, but it was mostly the defense that contributed to Walnut Creek’s four runs. Still, it was a positive after the Crawdads ended the Stompers’ season in 2024.
But Pace barely believes in momentum when it comes to complete games. He knows it can impact the team within the day, but he thinks each day is a new opportunity to perform at a high level. That was shown on Tuesday. Walnut Creek battled back from its uncharacteristic performance in the series opener and tallied more hits, made fewer errors and struck out more batters than Sonoma.
It seemed like the Crawdads were going to win the entire time. Their energy level was higher, and they came out of the gates strong. The Stompers nearly scored in the first inning when Nic Sebastiani reached third base after being hit by a pitch. Landon Akers also singled. But Colton Boardman, McCann Libby and Brady Shannon were retired to send Walnut Creek to the plate.
It immediately took the lead. The first play of the bottom half saw Jared Mettam reach on an error by Scheppler. He stole second before scoring on a Joey Donnelly base hit. It was just one run, but it deflated Sonoma. Connor Pawlowski, Lizzul and Scheppler were all punched out swinging to bring the Crawdads back to the dish.
On the mound for the Stompers was Charlie Malton. Although he struggled in the first, he settled in to retire Walnut Creek for the next three innings. Malton finished allowing just the lone first-inning run. He only struck out two batters, but his three hits surrendered limited the Crawdads’ offense.
Sonoma’s staff gave it a chance even when Malton was replaced. Lucas Alaniz pitched an inning, and Cole Pacheco, Ryan Seo and Kyle Seo followed him up, each with one more.
Pace was impressed with Malton and thought the four relievers gave the Stompers the best chance to win. But he also knows it should’ve been a tied game if Sonoma could’ve “played catch” in the early going and limited its errors.
On the offensive side, the Stompers continued to struggle. They had three singles in the third inning but couldn’t score. They had another base hit and a hit-by-pitch in the fifth, yet were soon retired. Walnut Creek’s staff was making things interesting, but it continued to limit Sonoma’s lineup.
Opened by Kody Perry and followed by Carson Timothy, the two right-handed pitchers anchored the Crawdads through 5.1 innings. Noah Zirkle and Kam Croghan relieved through the eighth. Their offense even enlarged their cushion in the bottom half of the eighth, scoring two more runs to hold a four-run lead.
The Stompers had one last try. They’d shown almost no energy at the plate, but a little bit of fight surfaced. Keys was hit by a pitch, and Ben singled. An error put Boardman on, and two straight walks from Nic and Akers plated Keys and Ben. However, Pawlowski and Heeryun Han flew out, and Libby grounded out to halt any momentum and end the game.
Pace doesn’t think the two runs in the ninth will translate to Wednesday’s series finale. But he knows Sonoma has just as good a chance as Walnut Creek back at Arnold Field at 6:05 p.m.
“Tomorrow’s a whole new day. We gotta go reestablish everything,” Pace said. “If we have any momentum, cool. Hopefully, we go play better tomorrow.”