Sonoma Stompers Female Players, How Did They Do?

The Independent League Sonoma Stompers team that used three females during the season just won their first league title.

The Sonoma Stompers of the Pacific Association made history in more ways than one this year. They made news earlier in the year when they signed two female players to their roster. They added a third female player for one game later in the season, which resulted in the first all-female battery ever in men’s professional baseball. Recently, their season culminated with a 5-4 victory over the San Rafael Pacifics to win the league championship.

The Stompers nearly had their first championship last year when they lost the title game. Manager Takashi Miyoshi was happy to get it done this year. As reported in the Sonoma Index-Tribune, Miyoshi said, “Ever since we lost in the championship game last year, I thought about bringing a championship back to Sonoma. Doing that would mean making history. I am so happy we made our fans happy, and this title means a lot to me.”

A couple months ago, the Stompers signed Kelsie Whitmore and Stacy Piagno to professional contracts. Whitmore had just graduated from Temecula Valley High School in California, where she played golf, soccer, and baseball.

She has a full-ride scholarship to Cal State Fullerton to play softball, despite little experience on the softball diamond. She helped the US Women’s National Team win a gold medal at the Pan American Games in 2015 as a 16-year-old. Piagno was also part of that gold medal-winning team in the Pan American Games. During that tournament, she became the first woman to toss a no-hitter when she blanked Puerto Rico. Both players will compete in the upcoming Women’s World Cup in Korea in the fall.

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In July, the Stompers added another member of the Pan-Am Games team when they signed catcher Anna Kimbrell. Kimbrell has a long history playing baseball. She’s been with the US Women’s National Team since 2008 and has played in four Women’s World Cups of Baseball. When Piagno tossed her no-hitter against Puerto Rico, it was Kimbrell who was behind the plate. Kimbrell played college ball at Alabama-Birmingham (UAB) and had a .910 OPS in her senior season.

Now that the season is over, we can look back to see how well these women played this year. It turns out Kimbrell only played one game with the Stompers, but it was historic. She was behind the plate when Kelsie Whitmore started a game against the Pittsburg Diamonds. According to the Stompers, the duo became the first all-female battery in the history of men’s professional baseball.

The first inning went well, as Whitmore retired the side in order and needed just nine pitches to do so. She was not as successful in the second inning when the Diamonds plated four runs. The first two batters reached base in the third inning and Whitmore was removed. Both runners scored, so she ended up allowing six earned runs in two innings. Kimbrell was 0 for 3, with a strikeout. On a brighter note, Piagno got action at second base and picked up her first hit.

That historic game was Whitmore’s only pitching performance of the season, but she played in seven games overall and went 1-for-13 with a run and an RBI. She struck out eight times and walked once. Piagno was 1-for-5 with a run, three strikeouts, and one walk during the season. She also pitched in eight games, including three starts, going 12 innings and allowing 12 earned runs. She struck out two and walked five.

With their first season with women on their roster in the books, the Stompers don’t plan to make this a one year thing. General Manager Theo Fightmaster told MLB.com that he hopes this is just the start of a women’s baseball movement. He’s hoping women in the U.S. get more opportunities to play baseball. Japan, for example, has high school baseball leagues for females.

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Fightmaster credits Francis Ford Coppola for pushing the idea of women playing in the Pacific Association. Coppola, the famous director of “The Godfather”, owns Virginia Dare Winery. The Winery sponsored the Stompers “in an effort to promote the recruitment, development, and advancement of women in baseball.” Stacy Piagno, Kelsie Whitmore, and Anna Kimbrell were the first step. We’ll find out how the story continues next summer.