Sonoma streak snapped, but Stompers rebound

Last Thursday, Aug. 2, the Sonoma Stompers added on to their winning streak, defeating the Martinez Clippers 4-3 for their eighth win in a row – following two in a row over the San Rafael Pacifics that put them in sole possession of first place in the Pacific Association standings.

But all good things must end, and Friday night found the Stompers on the short end of a 7-6 score against the Clippers, who were the last team to hand the Stompers a loss before their streak began.

Starting pitcher Vijay Patel struggled in early innings before being chased in the seventh, and ended with the loss. While the Stompers showed their offensive prowess when Kenny Meimerstorf lifted his 17th home run of the year into the stands, they left a total of nine runners on base and couldn’t extend their streak to nine.

To add sting to the wound, the Stompers dropped their second straight game the next night, Saturday, falling to San Rafael in a 13-7 slugfest.

Sonoma struck in the top half of the first inning when Kam Stewart doubled in Rob DeAngelis, but the Pacifics scored two in the bottom half and held their lead for the remainder of the game.

The Stompers made things interesting in the sixth inning, scoring five runs on a walk and four hits, including home runs from Miles Williams, his 19th, and Kevin Farley.

San Rafael was able to counter Sonoma’s rally with two more runs of their own in the bottom of the sixth and three more runs in the eighth added even more insurance, despite Stewart’s RBI single in the seventh.

DeAngelis, Williams and Stewart combined for eight of the Stompers’ nine hits, driving in three runs and scoring five runs.

Sunday’s afternoon game at Arnold Field gave the Stompers a chance to recover, and they took the first game of a three-game home stand with a 10-9 win over the Martinez Clippers.

DeAngelis and Williams each had two hits, while Meimerstorf and Daniel Baptista drove in two runs each, Baptista’s coming on the first of his three hits, a single in the three-run first inning.

Farley drove Meimerstorf home in the third inning and Meimerstorf saw two come home in the fourth when he reached on a Clipper error.

Even though that error gave Sonoma the lead, Martinez stormed back in the sixth to jump out on top once more, smashing their third homer of the day for a 8-6 lead.

Meimerstorf continued his day with a solo home run to lead off the bottom of the seventh, paving the way for a four-run inning. Bradley singled home Farley, Ryan Cooper drove Baptista home on a groundout for the lead, and DeAngelis doubled Bradley home for insurance.

That insurance proved to be critical, as the Clippers scored a run in the eighth but could not manage any more.

Ethan Gibbons gave the Stompers six innings in his second start of the week, allowing five earned runs on one walk with six strikeouts.

D.J. Sharabi contributed two innings of one-run relief and Jacob Cox shut the door in the ninth with a scoreless frame for his 18th save of the season, tying the Pacific Association’s single-season record.

After an off-day Monday, the Stompers host the Napa Silverados for games Tuesday and Wednesday, both at 6:05 p.m.