Jace Peterson and DJ Stewart each drove in two runs on three hits to help lead Norfolk's 15-hit effort in a dominant 12-3 road win over the Toledo Mud Hens Wednesday afternoon.
Jace Peterson and DJ Stewart each drove in two runs on three hits to help lead Norfolk's 15-hit effort in a dominant 12-3 road win over the Toledo Mud Hens Wednesday afternoon.
Norfolk opened the floodgates early with two runs on four consecutive hits in the first inning, which included RBI singles from Stewart and Peterson.
Stewart finished the day one home run away from hitting for the cycle, as he also scored three runs and was one of four Tides batters to drive in two runs. Stewart is now batting .500 (15-30) with four home runs, six doubles, a triple and 18 RBI through 10 games in May.
Peterson singled three times and also finished with two runs-batted-in to help pace Norfolk's offense, while Christopher Bostick recorded two of Norfolk's five doubles in the game - which matched their season high. Through 11 games in May, Peterson is batting .405 (17-42) with a home run, two doubles, a triple, six RBI and a .490 on-base percentage.
With the Tides up 7-1 in the seventh inning, Mason Williams extended the lead to 9-1 with a two-run blast off of Joe Navilhon, who came on in relief for Mud Hens starter Tyler Alexander in the sixth. With the home run, Williams has now homered six times in his last twelve games, matching his entire season total (6) from 87 games with Louisville last season.
Norfolk starter Tyler Herb picked up his third victory in his fourth appearance at the Triple-A level, allowing two earned runs on seven hits while striking out seven over 6.0 innings. The 27-year-old right-hander is now 3-0 with a 3.43 ERA over his first four appearances (three starts) since joining the Tides on April 28th.
Tanner Scott followed Herb's solid start with two perfect innings out of the bullpen in the seventh and eighth, striking out four of the six batters he faced.
With the win, the Tides have now won 11 of their last 16 games and - with their 18-19 record - are one win away from getting back to the .500 mark for the first time since April 5th when they were 1-1. Since April 26th, the Tides have hit a league-leading .319 and have registered at least 10 hits in 11 of those 16 games.
The Tides and Mud Hens will wrap up their three-game set on Thursday morning at Fifth Third Field, with first pitch scheduled for 10:35 AM. LHP Keegan Akin (1-1, 4.24) will get the start for Norfolk against Toledo's LHP Matt Hall (2-1, 6.82).
