As the Healdsburg Prune Packers continue their dominance of the California Collegiate League’s northern division this summer, it sometimes leads to a certain predictability in the outcome. Especially when they play cross-county rivals the Sonoma Stompers, over which the Packers have demonstrated clear “ownage,” as Giants broadcaster Mike Krukow likes to say.
The outcomes of most games in their latest series, four games between July 7 and July 10, demonstrate that ownage: 7-1 on July 8, 11-1 on July 9, 18-3 on Sunday, July 10.
But last Friday night, July 7, the Healdsburg-Sonoma rivalry produced a game worthy of a rivalry. Coming on the heels of a rewarding 7-2 win over the Crawdads on July 6, the Packers took the field at Rec Park, no doubt expecting another effortless triumph over the out-stomped Stompers.
Vaughn Mauterer took the mound to start for the Packers, Orlando Leon Jr. for the Stompers. The both pitched ably if not spectacularly for the first couple innings but the pressure of the competition got to both of them soon enough.
The Packers scored twice in the bottom of the first, then the Stompers drew even in the top of the second. But the Packers scored in the bottom of the third to move ahead 3-2.
In the fourth inning, however, the Stompers showed some mettle. Leadoff batter Michael Bell walked, advanced to second on a ground out and then scored when Sonoma shortstop Jose Ruiz tripled. That smash was followed by a single from Nathan Brasher, scoring Ruiz and driving Mauterer to the dugout with the stain of a two-run inning on his record.
Reliever Carter Benbrook put the brakes on the rally, but the damage was done, and the Stompers were basking in the glow of a rare lead over the Packers, 4-3.
In the sixth inning, they extended that lead as Bell scored for the second time in the game. Fans in the Clarence Ruonavaara Grandstands were practically in shock to see the hometown Prune Packers on the short end of the 5-3 score
For their part, the Sonoma squad was now standing on the sidelines, cheering every pitch and rooting on their teammates toward what they hoped would be an upset, beating the Packers in Healdsburg—a feat unheard of in 2023.
That didn’t last long, however. Healdsburg scored twice in the bottom of the seventh, a rally kicked off by Stompers’ second-baseman Bell adding an error to his game-day stats that allowed Alex Leopard to reach first. Leopard took second on a walk to Christian Almanza, then stole third to get just 90 feet away from home. Cameron Nickens’ single pushed him across to make the score 5-4.
With only one out, Connor Charpiot walked to load the bases, and the Stompers decided it was time to switch pitchers, calling up Nicholas Rodriguez in relief. He struck out Peyton Schulz to finally get an out, then walked Packers slugger Will Hodo to push in Almanza for the second score of the inning. Game tied, 5-5.
Two successive short foul pop-ups to the Stompers catcher Omar Gastelum proved an anti-climactic ending to the inning and the Packers rally fell short as they left three men on base with the final out.
The tension built as the two teams remained scoreless for the next two innings, forcing the game into extra innings on the 5-5 tie. The tenth inning was no decider either, as both teams scored a run—the Stompers’ Xabier Iparraguirre scampering home on a sacrifice fly, and the Packers’ Travis Sanders coming across on a passed ball.
The long summer day was actually darkening as the 11th inning began, the score tied at 6-6. Although the overtime rules put a runner on second to start, the Stompers found themselves facing reliever Devin Kirby, who struck out two out of the three batters he faced.
With Cameron Nickens in scoring position on second to start the bottom of the 11th, Robbie Hamchuck took a walk and Peyton Schulze beat out a single to load the bases with nobody out.
Hayden Hall of the Stompers then gave up his fourth walk in two innings, this one to Hodo. Nickens trotted home with the winning run to end a tense marathon of wine country baseball as the Prune Packers won it, 7-6 in 11 innings.
Following the midseason break, the Packers meet the Menlo Park Legends for three straight games at Rec Park on July 14, 15 and 16, before starting another three-games series against CCL rivals the Lincoln Potters on July 18.
Healdsburg’s Recreation Park is at Piper and University streets. Weekday game time 6pm, Sunday games at noon. Admission is $8 or $15 for two, children are free.
