DANVILLE, Calif. — Through three innings on Sunday, the Walnut Creek Crawdads and the Sonoma Stompers were locked in a tight battle with neither team giving an inch. The Stompers controlled the game with a slight 2-1 lead, but it was nothing the Crawdads couldn’t overcome if they could keep the game close on defense. 

Unfortunately for the Crawdads, that didn’t happen. Left-handed reliever Ryan DeLaney came into the game in the fourth and gave up a double and a single, putting two runners in scoring position. The southpaw then induced a ground ball to third base, but Ryley Leininger wasn’t able to field it cleanly, costing the Crawdads a run. 

While the error was unfortunate, Walnut Creek recorded back-to-back outs and appeared to be on the cusp of escaping the inning with the game still very much in reach. Then, things started to fall apart. Two free passes loaded the bases and scored a run before left fielder Casey Leavitt-McGee dropped what would’ve been the third out of the inning, functioning as the exclamation point of the frame and allowing three runs to score.

Walnut Creek (8-5) was eventually able to get out of the inning, but not before five Sonoma Stompers (11-7) runs came across to score. Like in the Crawdads’ loss to the Arroyo Seco Saints the day before, one big inning from the opposing team sucked the life out of Monte Vista High School. The Stompers would win, 10-4, but with better execution, who knows what the final score could’ve been. 

“These guys have to throw strikes, they have to, there’s no other way around it,” Crawdads head coach Brant Cummings said. “We can’t give them extra base runners every inning. Otherwise, we have to play perfect defense, and we can’t expect to do that.” 

The errors were costly, contributing to five of the Stompers’ runs, but the staff’s struggles with finding the strike zone exacerbated the damage. The Crawdads ended up handing out 16 free passes between walks and hit-by-pitches. In some ways, the fact that they didn’t surrender more than 10 runs is impressive. 

The coaching staff has preached all season that the arms need to find the zone to have success. Some days are better than others in that department, but overall, there’s still a long way to go. 

“I think they just need to be more aggressive and stop picking and trying to get corner strikes and (start) attacking the zone,” catcher Brandon Clizbe said. “Let them get themselves out.” 

Clizbe’s day behind the plate was certainly a difficult one, having to deal with erratic pitching, but in the batter’s box, he triumphed. In the sixth inning, the backstop doubled to the right of dead center field, something the Monte Vista alumni has surely done countless times. The double was the Crawdads’ only extra-base hit of the game and allowed him to score the Crawdads’ second run.

The double was Clizbe’s second base hit of the day. In the first inning, he proved that not all catchers are slow by beating out an infield single to score center fielder Sam Jenkins.

Early runs have been scarce for Walnut Creek recently. Clizbe kept his approach simple to avoid squandering the opportunity.  

“I’m just trying to put the ball in play when I’m up there, especially when there’s guys on base. I just let my bat work, have a simple approach and not try to do too much at the plate.” 

Sonoma’s right-handed starter Harun Pelja settled down after the first inning, throwing four more innings, all scoreless, before his bullpen took the baton. While new looks offered chances for the Crawdads to edge back into the game, runs didn’t come any easier. The Stompers big inning didn’t just suck the life out of the crowd, it demoralized the players too. 

“When we’re in the field and the other team scores, we kind of get down,” Jenkins said. “I think we need to (realize) we can’t take five runs back all at once with one hitter. We just need to take it one batter at a time, get on base and barrel up the ball.”

The Crawdads know that changes need to be made to their game. The team has already proved that they’re talented with their early-season seven-game winning streak, but now, following a 2-4 stretch, it’s time to prove that the team can firmly respond to struggles. 

Walnut Creek has an off-day on Monday, but when they get back to the ballfield, they’ll be playing the same Stompers team. In order to flush the struggles away, they’ll need to not only forget the loss but also come back knowing that success is possible. To do that, they’ll need to see it within themselves first. 

“People often say, ‘hey, go out there and have fun, because that will lead you to success,’” Cummings said. “… You can’t simply say, ‘OK, I’m going to have fun,’ because if you go out there and don’t succeed, it’s not fun. … You have to have some measure of confidence (to succeed), and I think (that comes from) mentally preparing for the situation.

“Be ready to go and mentally see yourself in those situations,” Cummings said. “See yourself making pitches. Mentally prepare for your at-bats, defensively, walk yourself through the pre-pitch scenarios, all those things.”