SONOMA, CA – The Arroyo Seco Saints (6-4) defeated the Sonoma Stompers (9-7) on Friday night at Arnold Field.  

In their previous game, the Saints fell to the San Luis Obispo Blues with a final score of 3-0. The Saints squad came into Friday night’s game ready to get their first win of their Northern California road trip.  

Head coach Aaron Milam chose Luke Ballantyne (Biola University), who was named the Saints’ pitcher of the week after his strong week 1 performance.  

Ballantyne put up five strikeouts and allowed no runs in the first three innings of the game. In his dominant outing, Ballantyne had a perfect 2-out and leadoff execution.  

The Saints’ offense had a few base hits in the first three innings, but they couldn’t get past Stomper’s starting pitcher David Howard, who delivered seven total strikeouts.  

John Iacono, also from Biola University, pitched the next two innings for the Saints and allowed no runs with three strikeouts.  

In the fourth inning, the Saints loaded the bases with two singles from Jack Little (Baylor University) and Jax Ryan (Arizona State University), and Keon Moseni (Central Arkansas) walked. However, the Saints could not push anyone across the plate. The score was still knotted at 0-0 after the 4th inning.  

Christian Robb (Texas Arlington) kept the Stomper’s scoreless through the 6th and 7th innings.  

Saints’ infielder Jax Ryan had a base hit and reached third base off an interference call from the Stompers. Ryan crossed home plate off an error, putting the first run on the board for the Saints.  

The Stomper’s offense continued to fight back through the last two innings but could not get past Saints’ pitchers Masen McDonnell (Cal State San Marcos) and Andrew Citron.  

Attempting to extend their lead, the Saints put up a few base hits but did not add any runs to the board. With a final margin of 1-0, the Saints took the victory against the Sonoma Stompers.  

The Saint’s pitching staff dominated throughout the entire game, allowing no runs and putting up 11 strikeouts total.  

In a post-game interview, the Saints’ starting pitcher shared his thoughts on the win.  

“If we can win one, we can win more,” Ballantyne said.  

Jumping ahead, the Saints will visit the Walnut Creek Crawdads on Saturday in Danville, CA at Monte Vista High School. The first pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. MST.  

Contributors:

• Saints reporter Taylor Dowdy (Arizona)
• Edited by Saints reporter Nick Olquin (Ashland)
• Saints photographer Carina Sanchez (Cal State LA)