Tides Open Second Half With Convincing Win
June 28, 2023 - International League (IL)
Norfolk Tides News Release
NORFOLK, VA --- The Norfolk Tides (49-26) defeated the Charlotte Knights (35-41), 12-5, on Wednesday night at Harbor Park. Early production from the Norfolk offense continued throughout the night, and the Tides open the second half with a win over Charlotte.
The Norfolk offense was in full swing to begin the game as four consecutive batters reached base in the first with Josh Lester capping the streak with a single to right that put the Tides ahead by two. Joey Ortiz followed up Lester with a groundout that brought in another run, and the Tides led 3-0 by the end of the opening frame.
After Maverick Handley reached on a walk in the second, Colton Cowser roped a double into left field to bring Handley all the way around from first. Charlotte found their way onto the scoreboard with a Billy Hamilton sacrifice fly in the third. The Tides answered in the home half with a first pitch home run off the bat of Connor Norby that put the Tides up 5-1.
The scoring flurry would continue as Oscar Colás launched a ball deep to center for a solo home run, pulling the Knights within three of the Norfolk advantage.
A slight scoring drought from either side was disrupted in the bottom of the sixth as Handley checked in with an RBI double. This kicked off a four-run inning that included a Ryan Mountcastle double that scored two and a Heston Kjerstad single that scored one to put the Tides up by seven.
A Charlotte run scored in the seventh on a Sebastian Rivero sac fly, but the Tides added three more in the bottom half of the frame to go up 12-3 as Handley cashed in another run-scoring double, this time bringing around two. Rivero would hit a two-run home run in the ninth for Charlotte, but the Tides would eventually came away with the 12-5 victory.
Norfolk is back at it tomorrow with matinee baseball as first pitch is scheduled for 12:05 p.m. against Charlotte. The Tides are expected to send LHP Drew Rom (5-5, 5.16) to the hill while the Knights are anticipating LHP Sammy Peralta (3-2, 4.89) will make the start.
POSTGAME NOTES
Holy Cowser: Tonight's leadoff hitter was Colton Cowser who went 2-for-3 in the box with a run, a double, an RBI and two walks...Among 21 players in the International League with at least 100 at-bats out of the leadoff spot, Colton Cowser ranks first in OPS (1.057) while collecting seven doubles, a triple, seven home runs, 27 RBI and 33 walks.
Lightning Rod: Earning his fourth winning decision tonight was Grayson Rodriguez who also picked up his fourth quality start as a Tide in six Norfolk starts this season...In the month of June he leads International League pitchers with 39 strikeouts.
Mounty Python: In his first home game in a Tides uniform since September 2, 2019, Ryan Mountcastle picked up a multi-hit game by going 2-for-5 tonight with two RBI...in 17 career games against the Knights, he is batting .403 (27-for-67) with 11 runs, three doubles, three home runs, 14 RBI and five walks while slashing .438/.582/1.020.
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