Nashville splits doubleheader with Norfolk behind strong pitching, timely hits

Coleman Crow gave Nashville exactly the kind of response a taxed Triple-A staff needed. After the Sounds dropped the first game of Thursday’s doubleheader, 5-2, Crow held Norfolk in check in a 3-1 bounce-back win that split the twin bill at First Horizon Park and kept Nashville’s series momentum intact.

Game one had enough early life to look like it might tilt Nashville’s way. Robert Gasser struck out the side in the first inning, and the Sounds took the lead after a Norfolk walk turned into a run. Cooper Pratt then tied the game with a sacrifice fly, and Eddys Leonard jumped on the first pitch he saw to put Nashville in front 2-1. But Norfolk kept manufacturing pressure through free passes, and that approach eventually flipped the game. Tate Kuehner issued a pair of walks that helped set up the tying run, then Silas Ardoin delivered a go-ahead RBI double as the Tides pushed ahead for good.

Andrew Vaughn provided one of Nashville’s brighter notes in the loss. The veteran picked up his first extra-base hit of the rehab assignment with a double, a sign that the timing and batspeed were starting to return. Still, Norfolk added enough at the end to put game one away, leaving Nashville to salvage the split in the nightcap.

Crow changed the tone quickly. His outing anchored a 3-1 victory that turned the day from damage control into a reset, and Brock Wilken supplied the decisive swing with his second home run of the season. The blast also stretched Wilken’s on-base streak to 19 games, a reminder that his production has been one of the steadiest offensive elements in the lineup.

The pitching numbers told the fuller story of the doubleheader. Gasser and Crow combined for 12 strikeouts, and Nashville as a staff piled up 20 punchouts across the 14 innings. Pratt also stayed involved with hits in both games, giving the Sounds a steady presence at the top and middle of the order while the arms carried most of the load.

The split came after Nashville had already beaten Norfolk 7-4 on April 29 on Jett Williams’ three-run walk-off homer, with Jeferson Quero adding two doubles and two RBI. The teams were set to continue the series at First Horizon Park on May 2 and May 3, with Nashville still leaning on the mix that defined the doubleheader: prospect production, rehab bat depth and enough quality pitching to keep a long series within reach.