ALLENTOWN, PA- A dominant five-run second inning helps the Buffalo Bisons narrowly defeat the Lehigh Valley IronPigs 7-6 Friday night.
The Herd got things rolling in the first inning, as Spencer Horwitz blasted a double to right field, scoring Nathan Lukes and giving the Bisons an early 1-0 lead.
From there, the bats continued in the second, where Lukes would belt his second double of the game, sending Jamie Ritchie home and upping the lead, 2-0. With two outs, a Horwitz single to center field would score Lukes, furthering Buffalo’s lead to 3-0. As a tandem, Horwitz and Lukes each were 2-2 hitting, with two RBIs each early in the game.
With a man on first and third, Addison Barger would advance the Bisons lead to 6-0, with his seventh home run of the year that scored both Horwitz and Orelvis Martinez. It was also Barger’s second home run in the past three games against Lehigh Valley.
It wouldn’t take long for the IronPigs to get on the board however, as Cal Stevenson’s solo shot to center would make it, 6-1. From there, Simon Muzziotti hit a sacrifice fly to left field, allowing Scott Kingery to score, and cutting the lead down to 6-2.
Lehigh Valley didn’t stop there in the third, as they would match the Bisons with a five-run inning of their own, thanks to an Aramis Garcia home run that scored Kody Clemens and Darick Hall, minimizing the Bisons lead to 6-5.
In a back-and-forth game, Rafael Lantigua continued Buffalo’s hitting ways, sending a high fly ball over the left field wall. His ninth home run of the season would give Buffalo the 7-5 advantage.
After an up and down start, Wes Parsons finished the night strongly for the Herd, pitching 5.1 innings and tossing seven strikeouts in the process.
Following a few scoreless innings, Stevenson hit a sacrifice fly to shortstop, scoring Jordan Qsar and inching Lehigh Valley within one, 7-6.
A combined relief pitching effort by Paul Fry, Hayden Juenger, Brandon Eisert, and Rowan Wick that consisted of a combined zero runs allowed and three strikeouts helped Buffalo to maintain their lead.
In the end, Buffalo’s nine-hit night and dominant second inning would be enough to prevail them over the IronPigs, 7-6.
The Bisons and Lehigh Valley will continue in game four of a six-game series Saturday, with a scheduled 6:35 p.m. first pitch.
Next up:
- There were no results found.
- There were no results found.
All WNY is made possible thanks to coffee and sleep deprivation.
We appreciate your readership. We like money, too.
