VALLEJO, CALIF. – The Admirals used five home runs, including two apiece from Nick Akins Sr. and Chris Fornaci, to power past the Sonoma Stompers 17-8 at Wilson Park.

Akins and Fornaci now occupy the first two spots on the Pacific Association’s home-run leaderboard, at 12 and nine respectively. Akins enjoyed his third multi-homer game of the season, and the Admirals’ second-year hitting coach is also tied for fourth place on Vallejo’s all-time single-season home run list. Fornaci has now hit five round-trippers in the Admirals’ last seven games, and the league’s reigning Defender of the Year tallied six runs batted in, the most by any Admirals hitter in a game this year.

David Kiriakos also socked his sixth homer of the year, and the Admirals offense finished with 17 hits, one shy of their highest hit total in any 2018 ballgame. Cyle Figueroa led the club with three safeties.

This power surge came at an opportune time for Vallejo number-one starter Martin Cronin, who only finished three innings and had by far his worst outing of the campaign. Cronin exited after allowing all eight of Sonoma’s runs, five of them earned. Winning pitcher Peter Reyes followed Cronin with five innings of scoreless relief, striking out six, and d’Aundray Van Slyke mopped up in the ninth.

Likewise, Stompers starter Brandon Erickson was on the rocks throughout his five innings, and he gave way to Ty’Relle Harris in the midst of Vallejo’s seven-run sixth. Erickson surrendered seven runs, all earned, but Harris ended up taking the loss after allowing four runs while recording only one out. Robert Maislin finished the Vallejo sixth, but the Admirals touched him up for an additional three scores.

Mitchell Ho homered for Sonoma, and Miles Williams had three hits and three RBI. The two clubs meet again in wine country on the Fourth of July.

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