INDIANAPOLIS -Austin Meadows provided Mother's Day heroics with a walk-off single to give the Indianapolis Indians a dramatic 5-4, 11-inning win against the Norfolk Tides on Sunday afternoon at Victory Field. The walk-off triumph was Indy's first of the season and capped a successful 6-1 homestand.
INDIANAPOLIS -Austin Meadows provided Mother's Day heroics with a walk-off single to give the Indianapolis Indians a dramatic 5-4, 11-inning win against the Norfolk Tides on Sunday afternoon at Victory Field. The walk-off triumph was Indy's first of the season and capped a successful 6-1 homestand.
The Tribe (16-17) and Tides (15-21) traded leads multiple times throughout the matinee affair, but it was Indianapolis who had the last laugh in the 11th inning.
Facing Richard Rodriguez (2-2), Joey Terdoslavich worked a leadoff walk and was replaced by pinch-runner Eury Pérez. Jacob Stallings sacrificed Perez to second and with one away, Rodriguez intentionally walked Danny Ortiz to put the force back in play. A lengthy, nine-pitch at-bat by Christopher Bostick led to another walk, loading the bases for Meadows. The 22-year-old worked the count full before driving a high fly ball to the warning track in left for the walk-off winner.
Indians starter Clay Holmes breezed through the first five innings and was one out away from tossing six scoreless, but Norfolk strung together three consecutive two-out hits to grab a 2-0 lead while knocking Holmes out of the game.
Indy responded in the bottom half to level the score at two, despite recording just one hit in the frame. Tides southpaw Chris Lee allowed a single to Bostick and walked Meadows, Max Moroff and Eric Wood to force home a run. Paul Fry was called upon from the Tides 'pen and nearly escaped the jam, but a two-out wild pitch allowed Meadows to race home for the tying run.
Bostick gave the Tribe their first lead in the seventh with a run-scoring double into the left-field corner, bringing around Ortiz from first base.
Dan Runzler threw 2.1 shutout innings in relief of Holmes, and Indy carried a 3-2 advantage into the ninth. An error by Bostick preceded a pinch-hit two-run homer off the bat of Chance Sisco, moving Norfolk back in front and leaving A.J. Schugel on the hook for the loss.
Ortiz and Bostick rallied the troops in the home half, however, sending the Indians to extras for a sixth time in 2017. Ortiz belted a two-out double to center and scored on a clutch single to right by Bostick.
Schugel and Pat Light (2-0) shut down Norfolk the rest of the way, the latter striking out all four batters he faced to earn his second win.
Indianapolis will play five games in four days against Columbus beginning with the opener Monday night at Huntington Park. The Indians will send right-hander Tyler Eppler (3-1, 2.36) to the mound, opposite Clippers right-hander Travis Banwart (0-2, 8.44). First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m.
