The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (16-24) played game four of a six-game series on Friday night against the Norfolk Tides (21-22) from Harbor Park Stadium. Lehigh Valley pitcher Mick Abel (1-2, 5.60 ERA) was on the mound against Norfolk’s Tucker Davidson (1-0, 2.95 ERA).
In the bottom of the second inning, Lehigh Valley pitcher Mick Abel walked three batters to load the bases for Norfolk catcher Maverick Handley. Handley hit Abel’s sinker for an RBI single to center field scoring Nick Maton for a 1-0 lead.
After striking out Michael Pérez, Lehigh Valley pitcher Mick Abel got Jackson Holliday to fly out toward center fielder Jordan Luplow. Luplow threw the ball at catcher Aramis Garcia to tag out Terrin Vavra at home plate for an inning-ending double play.
Moving ahead to the bottom of the fifth inning, Norfolk had runners on second and third base when left fielder Heston Kjerstad brought Jackson Holliday home with a sacrifice fly to center field for a 2-0 lead.
Then, Norfolk first baseman Billy Cook hit Abel’s slider for an RBI double to left field scoring Connor Norby for a 3-0 lead. Mick Abel finished the game pitching six innings, allowing five hits, three runs, five walks, and six strikeouts throwing 98 pitches, of which 57 were strikes.
Beau Burrows was the new pitcher for Lehigh Valley in the bottom of the seventh inning. Norfolk had a runner on first base when Billy Cook hit Burrows’s slider for an RBI double to left field scoring Connor Norby for a 4-0 lead. With two outs, Burrows struck out Nick Maton to end the inning. Burrows (1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER) threw 17 pitches, of which 11 were strikes.
Lehigh Valley also had Andrew Bellatti (0.2 IP, 2 H, 1 BB) and Taylor Lehman (0.1 IP) pitching in the game. Bellatti threw 19 pitches, of which 9 were strikes, and Lehman threw two pitches, with one of them a strike.
Lehigh Valley’s offense had seven hits and was shut out by the Tides 4-0 ending their three-game winning streak. The loss went to Lehigh Valley starter Mick Abel. It was his third loss of the season and the win to Norfolk pitcher Corbin Martin (1,0 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 K).
The IronPigs and Tides play game five on Saturday at 6:35 pm on MiLB.TV. Purchase IronPigs tickets for the 2024 season today on StubHub and Viagogo. Also, pick up IronPigs merchandise today at Fanatics and Rally House.
