CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Norfolk Tides (4-1) defeated the Charlotte Knights (1-4), 26-11, on Wednesday night at Truist Field. Norfolk set several team records tonight, including the most runs and hits recorded in a single game.
Norfolk picked up right where they left off on Tuesday night, with Jackson Holliday leading off with a single and later scoring on a double by Heston Kjerstad in the first. Kyle Stowers would hit him in on a home run to right field giving the Tides an early 3-0 lead.
The Knights were able to respond in the bottom-half when they walked in a run with the bases loaded. Rafael Ortega later knocked an RBI sac fly to bring the score to 3-2 after one inning.
Stowers doubled the Tides lead to 4-2 in the third innning after knocking an RBI double down the right field line. But Charlotte came out hot in the bottom-half. They scored five runs in response on five hits and an error to go up 7-4 after three.
The Tides started scoring in large bursts to comeback and take the lead. Connor Norby launched a solo home run to score one of two runs in the fourth for the Tides. Charlotte would get back one of those runs on a solo home run by Lenyn Sosa to go up 8-6. But the Tides tied it up on Stowers’ second homer of the night, a two-run shot. David Bañuelos took the lead for the Tides with a two-run shot himself. Then Heston Kjerstad capped the inning with a three-run homer himself to take the 15-8 lead.
The third home run of the night for Stowers came when he led off the seventh inning. Norfolk would score four more runs that inning to put themselves up 20-8. They scored another five runs in the eighth, including a grand slam by Kjerstad. That totaled 10 RBI for him, setting the single-game franchise record. In the ninth, Peyton Burdick hit the eighth home run of the night for Norfolk to set the team franchise and caps the 26-11 game.