SONOMA, Calif. — Walnut Creek Crawdads right-handed reliever Halen Guerrero’s outing was starting to slip away late in the ninth inning. The righty entered the frame trying to preserve a six-run lead against the Sonoma Stompers and initially got off to a great start, recording two quick outs. Then, pressure started to mount. Three straight walks loaded the bases and a fourth walk — which came battling to a 3-2 count — scored a run.

The Crawdads were one out away from not just the win, but taking the lead of the CCL North from the Stompers. Now, if the Stompers got one big hit, they would’ve snatched momentum from the Crawdads and been able to make things interesting. Knowing this, pitching coach Dustin Cheyne headed for the mound. 

“I just told them play with the lead we have,” Cheyne said. “Be in the zone, it doesn’t matter if they put the ball in play, we’re not trying to strike guys out right now. If you’re going to miss with your curveball or your slider, just miss in the zone for a strike and let the ball play where it goes.” 

From there, Guerrero settled down. The righty induced a ground ball to Crawdads shortstop Jared Mettam, who flipped the ball to second baseman Chris Esquivel for the force out, securing Walnut Creek’s (16-10) 8-3, first-place snatching victory over Sonoma (18-13). The win made for a happy bus ride away from Arnold Field on Friday night for players and coaches alike. 

“We ran through some trouble and lost four consecutive, which doesn’t feel good,” Crawdads head coach Brant Cummings said. “But to turn around and beat these guys, they’re very good, two in a row, is very, very important. Being in first place, my moniker is ‘it feels better to win than lose,’ and we’re out here to develop players, but we’re also trying to win games and go as far as we possibly can.” 

The Crawdads started the game off by facing Stompers left-handed starting pitcher David Howard, who entered his Friday start with a 1.86 ERA in 19.1 innings pitched across five games and four starts, but had also walked eight batters. The Crawdads were able to take advantage of that wildness. 

Leadoff and second-place batters, designated hitter Ryan Ellis and third baseman Cam Calvillo, stayed patient and drew walks. A wild pitch advanced the runners 90 feet each, and Mettam got the scoring started with a single up the middle, scoring Ellis. Walnut Creek would control the lead the rest of the way. 

During their losing streak, the Crawdads were missing the clutch combination of walks and timely hitting. Friday, the team looked more like its true self. 

“It gives us offensive flexibility,” Cummings said about the ability to take advantage of walks. “It puts us in the spot where we have a chance to win. We’ve got to be able to score, because I think we’re going to play defense, and I think the pitching is going to keep us in games.” 

The pitching more than kept the Crawdads in the game. For most of the night, the staff dominated. 

Left-handed starter Colin Nowaczyk faced the minimum in his first two innings of work, striking out three batters along the way. After those two great frames, the southpaw fell into some trouble. 

A long time passed between Nowaczyk’s second and third innings of work, due to the Crawdads tacking on runs in the top half of the inning. When Nowaczyk went back to the mound, his command wasn’t the same. He walked and hit two batters before allowing a double down the left field line, which scored two runs. Nowaczyk settled in from there, though, and walked out of Sonoma with a win and five strikeouts in five innings of work. 

“He was able to mix up pitches really well,” Cheyne said. “His fastball had great command early in the zone. He got ahead of batters, and he had a lot of confidence. All of those things contributed to his success on the mound today.” 

Nowaczyk was relieved by right-handers Carson Timothy and Kody Perry, who tossed three scoreless innings before the Crawdads added their last bit of insurance, and Guerrero came in for the ninth. 

Calvillo doubled for his second hit of the day in the top of the ninth and scored after a pair of wild pitches, which also moved right fielder Joey Donnelly to third base after he reached on a walk. Donnelly was scored by Mettam, who singled down the left field line, making it an 8-3 game.

“To tack onto (the lead), it felt good,” Cummings said. “We got two in the ninth to make it a six-run lead versus four, because then those at-bats are different in the ninth inning.”

Mettam was all over the Crawdads’ run production, also playing a significant role in the team’s four-run third inning. With runners on second and third after Donnelly doubled and Calvillo reached on a fielder’s choice, Mettam singled past the Stompers’ diving shortstop Colton Boardman up the middle, clearing the bases. 

The Saint Mary’s Gael finished the day 3-4, with three singles and four RBIs, and he did it out of the cleanup spot. Mettam usually hits first or second for the Crawdads, but Cummings wanted to give Ellis — who hit leadoff in his previous two years in Walnut Creek — a chance at the top of the order and Calvillo an opportunity in the two hole, which moved Mettam down the order. 

The rising senior didn’t change anything about his game, going from a table setting position to a run-producing spot in the lineup, and it worked.

“I just still try to hit the ball up the middle,” Mettam said. “There’s not really much of (an) adjustment. I just try to hit the ball up the middle every time. It worked out today.” 

Mettam’s efforts went a long way to ensuring that the Crawdads left Sonoma with the win and first place in the CCL North, but the win was a true team win. The lineup produced more than a touchdown’s worth of offense for the second game in a row, the defense only committed one error, Nowaczyk did his job as a starter and the bullpen, despite some late struggles, held on.

It’s a good time to be a Crawdad. Just ask Mettam, who found out postgame that the win put his squad in first place. 

“That’s exciting. Hell yeah.”

By Ethan Ignatovsky