NORFOLK — The Norfolk Tides’ embarrassment of prospect riches was on full display Wednesday night in Charlotte.
And their manager got back just in time for it.
Heston Kjerstad went 5 for 7 with two home runs, two doubles and a club-record 10 RBIs in Norfolk’s historic 26-11 victory over Charlotte at Truist Field.
Kyle Stowers homered three times for the Tides, who pounded out a franchise-record 29 hits to get off to a 4-1 start to the season. Stowers broke the Orioles affiliate franchise career homer record and now has 44 with Norfolk.
Manager Buck Britton missed the team’s season-opening series to help his wife care for the couple’s newborn son at their home in Florida. Britton, a former Norfolk utilityman, met the team in Charlotte minutes before Tuesday’s series opener.
Wednesday’s outburst was nearly timed perfectly with his reunion, though he wouldn’t quite take credit for it.
“I’d like to think — the triumphant return,” Britton said, laughing. “With the talent we have, man, they all got hot at the same time. That was something else.”
The Tides set single-game franchise records for runs, home runs (8) and hits. The previous record for runs was 23, set on April 13, 1982, at Rochester.
Second baseman Jackson Holliday, the top overall prospect in baseball, went 4 for 6 with two doubles and scored five runs. No Norfolk player had scored five runs in a game since 1982.
Eight players in Norfolk’s lineup had at least two hits, and six had at least three. Connor Norby, David Banuelos and Peyton Burdick all homered.
The Tides broke camp with three of the top 100 prospects in the game. Seven of the parent Baltimore Orioles’ top 30 prospects are on the team.
The Orioles, who won the AL East last season, were forced to make difficult personnel decisions this spring that left several players who might otherwise be major leaguers in the minors.
“It’s just a ton of talent, a bunch of guys that are major league players that are in Triple-A,” Britton said. “Obviously, there was some disappointment coming out of spring training, but they’ve made a commitment to kind of putting in the work and making sure that their skills stay sharp.”
In what was an 8-8 game Wednesday, the Tides scored seven runs in the sixth inning and five in both the seventh and eighth. Charlotte finished the game with infielder Danny Mendick on the mound.
Now that he’s back with his loaded team, Britton has a clear objective.
“Don’t mess ’em up,” he said. “It’s like getting in that car: You just put your foot on the brake, hit that button that says ‘start’ and just let the engine purr.”
David Hall, david.hall@pilotonline.com.