NORFOLK, Va. (WTKR) — The Tides couldn't beat the weather on Sunday afternoon, but Kyle Stowers made sure to put his name in the history books before the rain arrived.
Norfolk's series finale against Charlotte was suspended in the bottom of the ninth inning in a 4-4 tie. The two will finish the game on July 30 in Charlotte before playing a regularly scheduled contest.
Stowers, however, would not wait to break a Tides record in front of the Harbor Park fans.
With a runner on during the bottom of the first inning, the outfielder drilled a home run to right field for his 53rd big fly in a Norfolk uniform. It broke the organizations career home run record, officially passing Gary Rajsich's 52.
His 14 home runs is good enough for third on Buck Britton's team in 2024, only behind Coby Mayo's 17 and Heston Kjerstad's 16. Stowers went 1-for-3 in Sunday's game, responsible for bringing in three of Norfolk's runs.
Leading 3-0 going into the seventh inning, the Knights tied the game up on a three-run homer from Jared Walsh. In the next inning, Charlotte took the lead on a Rafael Ortega single to left field that brought Bryan Ramos.
Norfolk would load the bases up in the bottom of the ninth inning with one out. Mayo popped a ball up to center field, but Ortega had trouble finding it as a heavy downpour opened up at Harbor Park. It allowed Shayne Fontana to score but Anthony Sirvideo was thrown out at third base after slipping trying to round for home.
The game never saw another pitch, being suspended with two outs and two on for the Tides.
