First-place Stompers split 4, up by 6

Set up for another Pacific Association of Professional Baseball League sweep, the front-running Sonoma Stompers were nipped 3-2 for only their second loss of the young season in the finale of a three-game road series against the Pittsburg Diamonds last Thursday at City Park Field.

The visiting Stompers were then edged 3-1 by the Vallejo Admirals in Friday’s opener of a three-game set at Wilson Park and found themselves facing a 7-2 deficit on Saturday.

But Sonoma’s offense shook off its mini-slump by producing a six-run rally in the seventh and eighth innings as Joel Carranza, Mark Hurley and Isaac Wenrich each hit a home run for a dramatic 8-7 victory over the Admirals.

Then on Sunday, Hurley’s four-hit game and player-manager Fehlandt Lentini’s homer sparked Sonoma to a series-clinching 9-3 win.

Coming off a one-hit pitching gem in his last outing, right-handed ace Matt Walker earned his third mound win for the Stompers in Vallejo on Sunday by throwing six innings, scattering five hits and yielding two earned runs, striking out six and walking two.

Also leading Sonoma were Hurley’s four-for-five, with two RBIs and a run scored; Lentini’s two-for-five, including a homer, two runs and an RBI; Gered Mochizuki’s two-for-five with a double, three RBIs and two runs; Daniel Baptista’s two-for-five with a double and two RBIs; Carranza’s double and run; T.J. Gavlik and Matt Hibbert’s single and run each; and Wenrich’s run.

The Stompers were led to their one-run comeback win over Vallejo by hard-throwing left-handed relief pitcher Paul Hvozdovic’s three inning one-hitter, yielding no runs while striking out four; Hurley’s homer, double, two RBIs and run; Sergio Miranda’s two-for-four with a double and a run; Carranza’s home run, two RBIs and a run; Wenrich’s homer, RBI and a run; Lentini and Mochizuki double, RBI and run each; Hibbert’s double and run; Baptista’s single and run; and Kristian Gayday’s single.

Pacing the Stompers’ Friday’s defeat in Vallejo were Baptista’s two-for-four with an RBI; a single apiece by Gayday, Hurley and Andrew Parker; and Wenrich’s run.

Sonoma was paced in Thursday’s loss to the Diamonds by Wenrich’s two-for-four with a double and run; a single each by Baptista, Gavlick and Yuki Yasuda; Carranza’s RBI; and Miranda’s run.

The current PAPBL standings has Sonoma’s 13-3 first-place record opening up a six-game cushion over Vallejo’s 8-10 and San Rafael’s 7-9, with Pittsburg eight games back at 6-12.

The Stompers will host a three-game set with Vallejo that starts at 6:05 tonight at Arnold Field, and continues at the same time tomorrow, Wednesday, June 24. Thursdays game, which will also be “Pride Night,” with Sonoma right-handed pitcher Sean Conroy being the first openly gay player to enter the pro baseball ranks.