Things seemed to be going the Tides’ way early on; they scored five runs in the top of the first to storm out to a big early lead. The first four batters of the game reached base, including a David Bañuelos two-run double, and a Maverick Handley RBI single and Shayne Fontana run-scoring grounder completed the scoring.
Unfortunately, as has been a common theme all year for Norfolk, the pitching staff gave up lots of runs, allowing Charlotte to rally back. Starter Bruce Zimmermann allowed only two runs in his first five innings but put the first two batters of the sixth aboard, with reliever Corbin Martin allowing them both to score.