STAFF REPORTS
IronPigs slugger Dylan Cozens hit two home runs, including the walk-off winner in the 12th inning, as Lehigh Valley upended the Bisons, 5-4, on Friday night from Coca-Cola Park. By dropping the four-hour, one-minute marathon, the Herd lost its fourth straight to the divisional rival, falling two games back in the IL North division.
Cozens needed just one pitch to end this game. The outfielder rudely greeted Bisons reliever Chad Girodo, lifting the only offering the southpaw threw on the night over the wall in right field. The no-doubt home run was Cozens’ second walk-off shot for Lehigh Valley this year and his league-best eighth homer on the season.
Cozens also homered in his first at-bat on the night, a solo shot off Herd starter Brett Oberholtzer, and forced extra innings with a two-out RBI-single in the bottom of the ninth inning. He finished the game with three RBI.
The defeat is a tough one for Buffalo as the Bisons led in both the eighth and ninth innings. Lehigh Valley completed their first rally from 3-0 down in the eighth with Jesmuel Valentin‘s two-out RBI-single off Matt Dermody.
Buffalo took a 4-3 lead in the ninth when Christian Lopes drew a bases-loaded walk. However, not putting any more runs on the board in the frame proved costly after Cozens’ game-tying hit in the bottom of the inning.
For the game, Buffalo was just 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position. They left 10 men on base.
The usually-stingy Bisons bullpen allowed three runs from the seventh inning on. Girodo suffered the loss to fall to 0-1 on the season.
Buffalo built their three-run lead in the second inning on an RBI-ground out from Alex Monsalve and a two-run single from Roemon Fields.
BISONS NOTES: Brett Oberholtzer started for the Bisons but was lifted after four innings. He struck out four and allowed a run on four hits…Jeff Beliveau threw two shutout innings of relief and struck out five of the seven batters he faced….Jason Leblebijian had two more hits and is now hitting .337 on the season.
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