Tides Drop Both Legs of Doubleheader to IronPigs

NORFOLK, VA --- The Norfolk Tides (20-21) lost both games in a twin-bill against the Lehigh Valley IronPigs (15-23) on Wednesday night at Harbor Park. The Tides scored three runs in both games and were unable to notch a win in either game of the series opener.

Lehigh Valley began the scoring in the opening game of the double header, posting two runs in the top of the first inning. The Tides responded in the bottom half of the inning when Heston Kjerstad sent the first pitch he saw 386 feet over the left field wall for a solo home run, his 11th of the season. The Tides took their first lead of the night in the second when Daniel Johnson launched a two-run home run to give Norfolk a 3-2 lead. The IronPigs tied it back up at 3-3 in the top of the third on an RBI double from David Dahl and took a 4-3 lead in the top of the fifth on a sacrifice fly out by Jordan Luplow. The Tides managed three runners over the final two innings, but were unable to bring any of them home and fell in the first game of the doubleheader, 4-3.

The IronPigs also got the scoring started in the second half of the twin bill, taking a 1-0 lead in the third inning on a solo home run from Cal Stevenson. They extended their lead in the top of the fourth to 3-0 when Stevenson collected an RBI double. In the sixth, Jackson Holliday reached base on a leadoff walk. Then, Heston Kjerstad reached on a ground ball error that allowed Holliday to score and cut the deficit to 3-1. Maverick Handley followed with an RBI double to bring home Kjerstad, and David Bañuelos tied the game in the next at bat with an RBI single to bring in Handley. Lehigh Valley retook the lead in the top of the seventh with a two-RBI double from Simon Muzziotti to give them a 5-3 lead. The Tides couldn’t muster a comeback in the bottom of the seventh and fell in the nightcap of the doubleheader.