Bats Stay Quiet in Tides Third Straight Loss

NORFOLK, VA --- The Norfolk Tides (28-26) fell to the Gwinnett Stripers (26-28), 7-2, Thursday at Harbor Park. The Tides lose the first three games of the homestand, just as they did in their first homestand vs. the Stripers from April 23 - 28. The Tides won the final three games of that first series and will look to do so again this week.

It was all Gwinnett early on, scoring a run in the second inning and three runs in the third. Luke Waddell knocked an RBI double in the second. With two runners on in the third, Luke Williams hit his fourth home run of the season for Gwinnett to put them up 4-0.

Norfolk did not score until the fifth inning. Shayne Fontana led off with a walk and found his way to third base with two out. He then scored on a wild pitch, and advanced Heston Kjerstad to second base. Nick Maton took advantage by knocking an RBI single to put the Tides behind, 4-2.

The Stripers kept piling on, scoring in the sixth and seventh innings. Skye Bolt knocked an RBI single in the sixth, then Eli White launched a two-run homer in the seventh to extend their lead to 7-2.

That’s all Gwinnett needed, as the pitching staff held Norfolk to three hits. In all three games this week, the Tides have been held to four hits or less. They have not had such a stretch since 2019 when they went four straight games with four hits or less from April 6 -9

Game four of the series starts Friday night at 6:35 p.m. LHP Cade Povich (5-1, 2.35) is the probable for Norfolk, while RHP Darius Vines (0-1, 4.58) will throw for Gwinnett.

POSTGAME NOTES

Holliday Season: Going 1-for-4 with a double and a walk was Jackson Holliday...that extended his on-base streak to 13 games, the longest active streak among Norfolk hitters, and his hitting streak to seven games...during his on-base streak that started on May 15 (Game 2) against Lehigh Valley, Holliday is batting .255 (14-for-55) with 14 runs, three doubles, three home runs, seven RBI and 13 walks...Holliday currently leads the International League in runs, walks (41) and is posting the sixth-best on-base percentage (.429), which is also the best mark among qualified Norfolk hitters.

Walk It Out: Despite being limited just three hits on Sunday, the Tides did walk 11 times in the game, setting the team season-high...it was the most they’ve walked in a game since August 30, 2023 at Worcester...Heston Kjerstad led all batters with three walks, setting his season-high.