IL Norfolk Tides

Watson, Vallimont Shut Out The Stripers

April 6, 2023 - International League (IL)
Norfolk Tides News Release


NORFOLK, VA --- The Norfolk Tides (5-1) defeated the Gwinnett Stripers (2-4), 3-0, on Thursday afternoon at Harbor Park. On a gorgeous spring day, it only took two Tides arms to complete a nine-inning shutout of the Stripers.

Today's matinee had the appearance of a pitching duel early on as starter Ryan Watson tossed two perfect innings to open the game for the Tides. After allowing Gwinnett's first baserunner of the game in the third, Watson escaped a bases loaded jam.

The Norfolk bats pieced together a couple of hits early, but could not crack the scoreboard until the third when three consecutive singles chucked the bags for Josh lester who grounded out to bring in Connor Norby for the game's first run.

With Watson dealing and the Tides up to bat in the fifth, Hudson Haskin poked a ball into center for an RBI single that brought in Norby from second base. Shortly after, Lewin Díaz dropped one down the left field line to score Lester, giving Norfolk a 3-0 lead.

Watson exited today's game after the fifth inning, putting him in line for the win. Chris Vallimont came in to relieve Watson to begin the sixth and pitched four no-hit innings for the Tides to close out the game and earn the save.

The Tides have won back-to-back games against Gwinnett and will go into tomorrow's matchup against the Stripers with a 5-1 record. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. with RHP Bruce Zimmermann (0-0, 3.86) listed as Norfolk's probable starter. RHP Nolan Kingham (0-0, 6.00) is expected to pitch for Gwinnett.

POSTGAME NOTES

Squaring It Up: The ball was scorching off the bat of Joey Ortiz this afternoon as his two singles registered exit velocities of 103.3 MPH and 108.5 MPH...his third inning base knock ranks as the fourth-hardest hit ball by a Tides player so far this season.

Multi-Hit Madness: Four batters recorded at least two hits in the game for the Tides this afternoon: Connor Norby, Joey Ortiz, Hudson Haskin, and Lewin Díaz...the four multi-hit performances are the most the Tides have had in a single game this season.

The Streaks Continue: Connor Norby and Ryan O'Hearn each put a mark in the hit column once again as they extend their hitting streaks to six games...Norby is batting .308 with two home runs and six RBI during his streak while O'Hearn has tallied three long balls to go along with a double and a triple as part of his .296 batting average in the same stretch.

Watson's World: Five shutout innings from Ryan Watson earned the Alabama-born righty the win today against Gwinnett......despite a high walk rate on the afternoon, he only gave up two hits...he now owns the longest scoreless innings streak for the Tides this season, surpassing Bruce Zimmermann who previously owned the longest streak with 4.2 shutout innings on April 1 at Durham.

No Hits For You: Chris Vallimont tossed the final four innings of the ballgame for Norfolk and did not allow a single hit during his outing...the Tides allowed only two hits this afternoon, the fewest they've allowed in a game this season.

Check out the Norfolk Tides Statistics



International League Stories from April 6, 2023


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