Wings Win Series Against Bisons In 11-Inning Thriller

The Rochester Red Wings secured their second series victory of 2024 Sunday afternoon, walking off with a bases-loaded walk in the 11th inning to beat Buffalo 5-4. 3B Trey Lipscomb roped a pair of doubles in the contest to extend his hitting streak to six games, and RF James Wood collected a pair of hits to extend his on-base streak to 25 games. Four Wings relievers combined to hold Buffalo to just one unearned run from the fourth inning on, highlighted by 1.2 hitless innings from RHP Luis Reyes.

Rochester broke through and opened the scoring in the third. C Drew Millas led off the frame with a single and moved to second on a ground out. SS Erick Mejia then reached on an error to put runners on the corners with one out, and 2B Darren Baker worked a walk to load the bases. An ensuing wild pitch allowed Millas to cross the plate and give the Wings a 1-0 lead, with runners now at second and third. With two outs, James Wood roped an opposite-field single that cleared the bases and gave Rochester a 3-0 lead heading to the fourth.

Buffalo responded in the top of the fifth to cut into the lead. With one out in the inning, RF Will Robertson singled through the right side and moved to second on another single from C Max McDowell. Two batters later, 1B Spencer Horwitz ripped a single of his own that allowed Robertson to cross the plate and put the Bisons on the board. SS Rafael Lantigua followed suit with the Bisons' fourth hit of the inning, a single up the middle that scored McDowell to make the score 3-2.

After holding Rochester scoreless in the top of the sixth, Buffalo went back to work in the bottom half. 3B Addison Barger led off the inning with a walk and moved to second on a wild pitch two batters later. With two outs in the inning, Will Robertson tied the game with a sharp single through the left side. Wings pitching was able to escape the remainder of the inning without further damage, keeping the game tied at 3-3.

The score remained tied through the bottom of the ninth, and neither team was able to cross the plate in the 10th. Buffalo plated a run in the top of the 11th on a sacrifice fly from RF Cam Eden to give the Bisons their first lead of the game. Trey Lipscomb doubled to lead off the bottom half of the inning, bringing DH Travis Blankenhorn around to score from second base and tie the game at four. In the next at-bat, 1B Juan Yepez blooped a single over second base to put runners on the corners with still no outs. The next batter, Drew Millas, was intentionally walked to load the bases. Two batters later, Erick Mejia drew a walk to force home Lipscomb, giving Rochester their third walk-off victory of the season, 5-4.

RHP Jackson Rutledge made his eighth start of the season this afternoon and turned in 4.2 innings of work. The right-hander allowed two earned on six hits with six strikeouts and no walks before turning the ball over to LHP Tim Cate. He covered a full 1.0 inning and allowed an earned run on a hit with two strikeouts and a walk. RHP Adonis Medina entered with two outs in the sixth and delivered 1.1 hitless innings with two strikeouts and a walk. Luis Reyes then worked 1.2 hitless innings of his own while striking out and walking one before giving the ball to LHP Joe La Sorsa, who took over and recorded the final out in the top of the ninth. La Sorsa then went on to pitch a hitless 10th, and gave the ball to RHP Stephen Nogosek to begin the 11th. The Right-hander turned in a hitless inning, allowing one unearned run with a walk and a strikeout en route to his first win of 2024.

Sunday afternoon’s Diamond Pro Player of the Game goes to 3B Trey Lipscomb. The Maryland native finished the contest 2-for-5 with a pair of doubles, a game-tying RBI in the 11th, and a run scored. He has now hit safely in all six games he has played with the Red Wings this season. This is also his first game with two doubles since August 17, 2023, with Double-A Harrisburg.

The Red Wings will take Monday off to travel to Allentown for a six-game set against the Lehigh Valley IronPigs that begins with a doubleheader on Tuesday. RHP Thaddeus Ward gets the ball for Rochester in game one against IronPigs RHP Tyler Phillips, and RHP Robert Gsellman faces RHP Michael Mercado in the back half of the twin bill. First pitch of game one is set for 11:00 a.m.

Find the box score attached here.