Stompers pull within a game of first, showdown tonight

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.