• Classifieds
  • Search
  • Garage Sales
  • Place Ad In Paper
  • FREE Online Ads
• WNY Blogs
• PLUS! Coupons
• Garage Sales
• Your Photos
  • View Photos
  • Add Your Own Photos
• Your Pet Stories
  • View Pet Stories
  • Add Your Own Pet Stories and Photos
• Sports
  • College Sports
    • Army Black Knights
    • Canisius College
  • Bisons
• Steam
  • View Steam
  • Add Your Steam
• Events
  • Search Events
  • Add Your Event
• Business Directory
• Helpful Links
• WNY Woman

Bisons first baseman Nick Evans collected his first hit of the season in timely fashion as his 2-run home run in the 15th inning gave the Bisons a 4-2 win over visiting Pawtucket Red Sox in front of 4,434 fans at Coca-Cola Field on Easter Sunday.

The win snapped the Bisons 0-3 losing streak and ended Evans personal stretch of futility that saw him enter that game-winning at-bat at 0-for-15 with seven strikeouts. With the marathon outing depleting their supply of throwers the Sox (3-1) were forced to call on catcher Carlos Maldonado to serve as emergency pitcher.

“I needed that real bad even being off of a catcher,” Evans said after the game. “It’s good to kind of get a little momentum going into a new series.”

With DH Fernando Martinez already on base courtesy of a walk Evans knew that Maldonado wasn’t going to be fancy and he had to be aggressive in his at-bat.

“He’s a catcher he was just trying to throw something over the plate. He wasn’t trying to trick anybody,” said Evans. “That’s a guy we have to take advantage of. You don’t want to go up there swinging at something out of the zone even though (he’s) a catcher you’re still looking for something to hit. You try to hit it hard regardless of whose pitching.”

Managing to salvage the series finale the Herd still tied their longest start of season losing streak since they dropped three straight at the War Memorial Stadium in 1987.

The Bisons got a good omen early on when Bobby Kielty’s single scored Jon Malo in the first to end the Bisons 21-inning scoreless drought.

Turning four double plays in Saturday’s loss, the Bison defense was just as sharp Sunday as they executed three more double plays in the win.

But no play stood out more than when center fielder Cory Sullivan robbed Pawtucket’s Paul McAnulty of a certain home run in the eighth inning when he made a leaping backhanded grab to bring the ball back into play after it had cleared the wall.

“It’s a game-saver. A game-saver,” said Herd skipper Ken Oberkfell. “An absolutely wonderful catch. He got back to the wall he didn’t time it he got back to the wall, which was huge. He leaped up and made a great catch. I didn’t think it was going to go as far as it did when (McAnulty) first hit it I said (Sullivan) is gonna get to that ball. Then it was like oh no he’s not going to get there but fortunately he did.”

Though he only went 1-for-7 on Sunday Sullivan is the only Bison to have a hit in all four games this season.

With Buffalo up 2-0, the Sox chipped away gaining an RBI in the sixth on McAnulty’s single and a home run from Chip Ambres in the seventh.

The teams remained at a stalemate for the next seven innings with both clubs not making the most of chances.

Happy with the victory the Bisons are aware they were lucky to escape with the win especially after not punching home a run in the 14th when they loaded the bases against former Bison Fernando Cabrera.
“What a job by Cabrera,” said Sox manager Ron Johnson. “They loaded the bases against him, nobody out he gets the first (groundball) out then punches out the next two guys.”

Stating from the start that they were a club geared more for small ball than power hitting it’s hard to figure out what was more ironic winning on a home run or the fact the Bisons despite instances in the third, fourth, sixth, 12th, 13th and 14th innings when even though they had men in scoring position they didn’t lay down one bunt to advance the runner.

Next series:

The defending Governors’ Cup champion Scranton-Wilkes/Barre Yankees come to town on Monday to begin a four game series with the Bisons. RHP Brandon Knight will make his Buffalo debut and oppose LHP Kei Igawa (0-0). All four games will have a 1:05 p.m. scheduled first pitch.