Three first inning hits capped by a Connor Norby double off the top of the wall in left field brought in the first two runs of the game for the Tides, the Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, giving them the early lead over the Bulls, the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays.
Finding the scoreboard again in the fourth was Shayne Fontana who lined a ball to right-center for a solo home run to give Norfolk a 3-0 advantage. In the bottom of the fifth, Niko Hulsizer led off the frame with a double and worked his way around the bases, scoring on a Curtis Mead groundout for Durham’s first run of the game.
Heston Kjerstad responded in the sixth with an opposite field blast that extended the Norfolk lead back to three. Matching Kjerstad with a solo home run in the seventh for Durham was Hulsizer, bringing the game to a 4-2 score favoring the Tides.
The Tides extended their lead in the eighth as Fontana muscled up for his second home run of the game. His blast was followed by a César Prieto single that scored two to put the Tides up 7-2. Hulsizer continued to carry the load for Durham as his eighth inning double tallied another run for the Bulls.
A Kjerstad sac fly in the ninth added an insurance run for the Tides and Darwinzon Hernández was able to slam the door on the Bulls in their final turn at bat to earn the 8-3 Norfolk victory.
The Tides are back in action tomorrow night against Durham with first pitch scheduled for 6:35 p.m. The Tides will send RHP Justin Armbruester (1-0, 1.69) to the mound while the Bulls are expected to start RHP Cooper Criswell (1-1, 5.53).
Game Notes
Heston Kjerstad went 4-for-4 with three runs, a home run, two RBI and a walk…between Double-A Bowie and Norfolk, it is his 24th multi-hit game of the year and his first four-hit performance in his professional career.
Shayne Fontana went 4-for-5 with two solo home runs…it is the seventh multi-homer game by a Tides player this season and Fontana’s first three-hit game as a Tide this year.
A strong performance from Drew Rom on the mound gave him his sixth win of the year which ties for the team lead…his nine strikeouts are the second most he has recorded in a game this season…it is the fourth time Rom has tossed at least 5.2 innings this season and he is posting a 0.77 ERA with a 1.07 WHIP and 29 strikeouts in those games.
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Chris Graham
