Cowser sends pair of homers to galaxy far, far away

Harbor Park could have been mistaken for the Star Wars sand planet Tatooine on Saturday night. Fans lined the bleachers decked out in everything from stormtrooper costumes to Mandalorian armor.

Triple-A Norfolk and Triple-A Rochester faced off on Star Wars night and Colton Cowser, a massive Star Wars fan, understood the assignment: hit balls to a galaxy far, far away.

The No. 35 prospect in baseball per MLB Pipeline did just that, smashing two home runs and a double to go 3-for-3 in just 5 innings of play.

Cowser’s big night was cut short by a rainout, but he certainly left his stamp on the Tides 9-2 win.

The game started late due to a 30-minute rain delay, but when Cowser finally stepped up to the plate, he destroyed the second pitch he saw 428 feet to right field for a leadoff homer. The ball exploded off of Cowser’s bat at 108.6 mph into the rainy Norfolk sky and most likely struck a Tie Fighter traveling through space.

That opened the flood gates for the No. 3 Orioles prospect.

“It feels awesome,” Cowser said. “We’ve been working hard this year and fine-tuning the approach and for it to pay dividends there, it really got the night going.”

Getting the night going is a bit of an understatement, because Cowser followed up his leadoff jack with a line-drive double to right in the third inning and then in the fourth it was blast off again.

The Sam Houston State University product drilled a two-run homer to right-center stretching the Norfolk lead to 6-0 in the fourth. Even on his big night, Cowser was attacking every plate appearance like normal.

“That’s the beauty of it,” Cowser said. “There’s not much going in the mind just going out there playing and not overthinking the game.”

Tonight is Star Wars Night at Harbor Park as we host the Rochester Red Wings, the Triple-A Affiliate of the Nationals!

We encourage fans to arrive early, carpool and use other means of transportation if possible. Additional convenient parking is available at the Dominion Tower. pic.twitter.com/YZ44RTNVzW

— Norfolk Tides (@NorfolkTides) April 22, 2023

While the rainout put a damper on the Star Wars festivities, it saved the Red Wings' pitchers from a sticky situation. The game was called with Cowser at the dish and the bases juiced; what his final box score line could have looked like remains unknown.

The massive night adds to an already solid start for the outfielder, who is slashing .271/.378/.371 on the season and has now collected his second multihomer game as a pro.

Cowser finished his night off by flashing the leather with a terrific diving grab in the top of the fifth inning.

After dominating at the plate and making web gems in the field, the only thing that could have made the 23-year-old's night better would be custom Star Wars jerseys.

“Last year we had a pretty sick Darth Vader one, that was cool,” Cowser said. “But that’s all right, I liked our green unis we busted out, green for the light side and we don’t wear those too often at home.”

Cowser’s next game probably will not be a Star Wars night, but the force was certainly on his side Saturday.