Nashville, TN – The Nashville Sounds walked off the Norfolk Tides with a three-run home run from Jett Williams in the bottom of the ninth inning Wednesday night with a 7-4 final. Jeferson Quero added two doubles and two RBI in the walk-off win over the Tides.
Norfolk jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead in the opening frame of the game as two walks and a single loaded the bases, then a sac fly by Creed Willems scored the first run. After two quiet innings of offense from both teams, the Sounds answered back in the bottom of the third inning as major league rehabber Jackson Chourio led off the inning with his second straight walk of the game. Two at-bats later, Quero ripped a loud double to left field and scored Chourio for the 1-1 game.
Left-hander Thomas Pannone started the game for the Sounds and worked 2.1 innings, allowing a run on two hits and striking out one in the process as he was replaced for Craig Yoho. Yoho wrapped up the top of the third inning with the final two outs of the frame as back-to-back groundouts closed it out heading into the bottom of the third. Nashville welcomed back Carlos Rodriguez to First Horizon Park and posted three scoreless innings on two hits and struck out two in the process.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, the Sounds took the lead for the first time in the game as Cooper Pratt ripped a one-out double to left, then Eddys Leonard floated a soft single into center field and crossed Pratt for the 2-1 lead. Nashville extended their lead in the bottom of the seventh inning as Jacob Hurtubise led off with the team’s seventh walk of the game. After Hurtubise stole for second, Brock Wilken crushed his sixth double of the season to left field and scored Hurtubise home extending the Sounds lead to 3-1.
Reiss Knehr worked a scoreless inning in the top of the seventh inning, while the Tides cut into the lead off of Junior Fernandez as back-to-back singles and a groundout moved runners into scoring position and plated one run with a 3-2 score still in favor of the Sounds. Easton McGee entered the game for the Sounds in the ninth inning and allowed a one-out two-run homer to left field and gave the Tides the 4-3 lead heading into the ninth.
The Sounds had one last chance to make things interesting in the bottom half of the frame as Jordyn Adams, who replaced Chourio on the field, struck out swinging to lead off the frame. Then, Hurtubise chopped an infield single to second and beat out the exchange from the second basemen, while Quero once again hit a bullet to left field and scored Hurtubise for the 4-4 tie game. After Luis Lara was intentionally walked and had two runners on base, Williams gave the Sounds their first walk-off win of the season as an opposite-field three-run shot to right field won the game with a 7-4 final.
The Nashville Sounds returns to action at First Horizon Park against the Norfolk Tides (Triple-A, Baltimore Orioles) on Thursday, April 30th, for a doubleheader with the first game beginning at 5:35pm.
