Buffalo, N.Y.- The Buffalo Bisons strong start wasn’t enough as the team fell 5-3 to the Charlotte Knights Friday night at Sahlen Field.

Buffalo’s hot start at the plate was met with effective pitching as the Herd held Charlotte to two hits after the second inning. Both of which were timely ninth inning singles for the Knights as it led to a two run ninth inning, earning Charlotte the victory.

Offensively, no time was wasted from both teams to start the game. The Bisons struck first in the first inning. Leo Jimenez led off for the Herd with a base hit and Joey Loperfido was hit by a pitch. Davis Schneider brought Jimenez home on a RBI single to give the Bisons an early 1-0 lead. Knights pitcher Owen White sent Loperfido home following a third disengagement of the at-bat of Riley Tirotta that resulted in a balk to expand the Bisons lead 2-0.

The Knights responded immediately in the second inning. Tim Elko and Kyle Teel each hit solo home runs on back-to-back pitches to tie the game 2-2. Four batters later, Dominic Fletcher hit an RBI single sending Dru Baker home and giving Charlotte a 3-2 lead.

Loperfido tallied a double to start the third inning and eventually scored on a Damiano Palmegiani sacrifice fly to left field which tied the contest, 3-3.

After an offensive first three innings from both sides, steady pitching led the way from both squads for most of the stretch. Charlotte was held hitless from the end of the second until the eighth inning, while the Bisons were held to one hit from the end of the third to the end of the ball game. Trenton Wallace made his return off the developmental list in the sixth, pitching two innings, recording two strikeouts and holding batters hitless before being ejected in the seventh inning in a 3-3 stalemate.

Knights pitcher Justin Anderson entered the contest in the eighth inning and struck out the side to keep the game 3-3 entering the ninth.

Charlotte’s Bryan Ramos reached base on a single in the top of the ninth and moments later was brought in thanks to a Brooks Baldwin RBI single that gave the Knights a 4-3 lead. Charlotte pushed their lead to 5-3 when Jacob Amaya knocked Baldwin home on a single.

The Bisons made an effort in the bottom of the ninth with Ryan McCarty and Josh Rivera reaching base on walks. Charlotte earned the 5-3 victory following a Jimenez flyout to center and Loperfido hitting into a double play.

The Bisons will meet Charlotte for the fifth game of the six-game series Saturday at Sahlen Field. The first pitch is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. The game can be heard on The Bet 1520 AM, the Audacy App, and Bisons.com starting at 5:45 p.m.