STAFF REPORTS
BUFFALO — After dropping their first game of the afternoon, the Bisons got off to a slow start in the second game of Sunday’s doubleheader at Coca-Cola Field. The Herd lost to Lehigh Valley, 5-4, after a Rhys Hoskins grand slam in the first inning.
Hoskins took advantage of three walks from Buffalo’s Luis Santos (1-2), putting Roman Quinn, J.P. Crawford, and Dylan Cozens on base. With a 1-1 count, Hoskins drilled a pitch from the middle of the strike zone to get his eighth homer of the season to give the IronPigs an early 4-0 lead.
Buffalo began a rally in the fifth inning as Jason Leblebijian singled a ball to short while Raffy Lopez also reached first base thanks to a fielding error from Quinn in centerfield. With two on base, Roemon Fields grounded a ball to center field that allowed Leblebijian to score. On the next at-bat, Darrell Ceciliani made a line drive to right field to bring Lopez and Fields home, trimming Lehigh Valley’s lead to 5-4.
Ceciliani kept the IronPigs in check earlier in the game as well, robbing Hector Gomez of a home run by reaching over the left field wall.
Santos started for Buffalo but had trouble getting through the first inning after giving up Hoskins’ grand slam and three walks. Jeff Beliveau came in afterwards for two innings of work in which he struck out five of the first six batters he faced. Following Beliveau’s stint, Wil Browning serviced the mound for three innings, giving up a run and striking out two.
With a short bullpen, Matt Dermody made an appearance and pitched the final inning for the Bisons, allowing one hit in the process.
In regards to dropping both games to end the homestand, Bisons manager Bobby Meacham remarked, “I look at it a little bit different. I feel confident because we stayed in it. I’m proud of the guys for this stretch we’ve gone through and how they handled it.”
The Herd is back in action on Monday with a road trip on I-90 to Syracuse for a three-game series against the Chiefs. First pitch for game one is slated for 6:35 p.m.
BISONS NOTES: Buffalo suffered just their second loss this season when scoring four runs or more, moving to 13-2 in that regard…Mike Ohlman’s home run in the fourth was his seventh of the season and his sixth at Coca-Cola Field this year…The Bisons are now 5-5 in games this season that are a part of a doubleheader.
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