Norby Homers Twice in Slugfest Loss

DURHAM, NC --- The Norfolk Tides (4-7, 40-46) fell to the Durham Bulls (6-6, 42-45), 14-5, on Saturday night at Durham Bulls Athletic Park. The game started with an hour and five minute delay due to rain. The first 17 runs of the game were scored via a home run, with Durham launching two grand slams. It was the second time this week the Tides lost in the rubber match of a three-game set.

It was Norfolk that struck first in the shootout. Jackson Holliday led off with a double, then scored when Connor Norby blasted a two-run homer to give an early 2-0 lead. But Durham came right back, loading the bases for Austin Shenton. He would launch a grand slam to give the Bulls a 4-2 lead.

In fourth, the Tides would retake the lead when Norby launched his second homer of the day, a three-run shot. But Durham yet again took the lead back on a two-run homer themselves by Curtis Mead in the sixth inning and were up, 6-5.

Durham exploded for six runs in the seventh inning. Shenton would go yard again, this time for two runs. Later in the inning, Kameron Misner launched a grand slam, the second for the Bulls of the night, to go up 12-5. This capped the game’s home runs for the night, with each of the first 17 runs scored on home runs.

The Bulls would add a litte more to their lead in the eighth when Logan Driscoll hit an RBI double, then scored on a single by C.J. Hinojosa to put the final score at 14-5.

The Tides have two off days until they play next on Tuesday. They head to Memphis for a six-game series prior to the All-Star Break. First pitch on Tuesday is 8:05 p.m., which neither team announcing their probables.