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Kjerstad Blasts Walk-Off Grand Slam in 12th Inning

Norfolk Salvages Series Split in Walk-Off Fashion
(Skyler Prieto)
By John Stanley
May 19, 2024

NORFOLK, Va --- The Norfolk Tides (23-22) defeated the Lehigh Valley IronPigs (16-26), 5-3, in 12 innings on Sunday at Harbor Park. In what was a pitcher’s duel through the 10th inning, a thrilling back-and-forth matchup in extras ended up going the Tides favor on a walk-off grand slam by

NORFOLK, Va --- The Norfolk Tides (23-22) defeated the Lehigh Valley IronPigs (16-26), 5-3, in 12 innings on Sunday at Harbor Park. In what was a pitcher’s duel through the 10th inning, a thrilling back-and-forth matchup in extras ended up going the Tides favor on a walk-off grand slam by Heston Kjerstad.

Neither team scored through the first 10 innings of the the game. Jonathan Heasley had a stellar outing in a spot start for the Tides. He tossed 5.0 scoreless innings, allowing two hits and a walk while striking out five.

Four relievers would continue the shutout for Norfolk, starting with Kade Strowd going 1.1 innings and tallied four strikeouts. Corbin Martin and Matt Krook added another 1.1 innings each, and Dillon Tate tossed a scoreless 10th inning.

The first run of the game scored in the top of the 11th on a pinch hit double by Lehigh Valley’s Aramis Garcia. But Norfolk scratched a run across in the bottom half after the Tides got runners on first and third base with one out. Michael Pérez executed a hit-and-run to groundout but tied the game at 1-1.

Lehigh Valley responded with two runs in the top of the 12th inning. Weston Wilson hit a go-ahead RBI double, then the IronPigs took advantage of an error to go up, 3-1.

To start the bottom of the 12th, Daniel Johnson hit and infield single that did not advance the inherited runner to third base. The Tides made two outs the next two at bats but moved runners to second and third base with two outs. Connor Norby walked to load the bases, setting up Kjerstad to hit a walk-off grand slam on the first pitch he saw. That gave the Tides a 5-3 win.

The win gives the Tides a 3-3 split with the IronPigs, winning three in a row after losing the first three games of the series. After a scheduled league day off tomorrow, the Tides head to Worcester for a six-game road trip. Neither team has announced their probables for the series.

POSTGAME NOTES

Kjerstad Walks Off: Going 1-for-6 with the walk-off grand slam today was Heston Kjerstad...it was his 12th home run of the season, good for third-most in the International League...it was his second grand slam of the season (April 3 at Charlotte)...it was the second walk-off win for the Tides this season (April 27 vs. Gwinnett, Coby Mayo walk-off single)...Kjerstad leads the International League in slugging (.701), OPS (1.096), and RBI (39), and is tied for the league lead in sac flies (5).

Heasley’s Hot: It was another great outing for Tides pitcher Jonathan Heasley, who made the spot start today for Norfolk...He tossed 5.0 scoreless innings, allowing two hits and a walk while striking out five...that lowers his Triple-A ERA to 0.45 (1 ER, 20.0 IP)...Heasley is currently riding a 16.1 scoreless innings streak, the longest by a Tide this season...of pitchers in the International League with at least 20.0 innings pitched, Heasley is second to Michael Mercado (0.35 ERA, 1 ER, 25.1 IP).