With First Win of 2026, Bisons Earn Twinbill Split with RailRiders
IL Buffalo Bisons

With First Win of 2026, Bisons Earn Twinbill Split with RailRiders

Published on March 29, 2026 under International League (IL)
Buffalo Bisons News Release


The Bisons entered the win column for the first time in 2026 with a doubleheader split against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, Sunday afternoon from Sahlen Field. After falling in game one in extra innings, 5-4, the Herd used a big rally and some heady baserunning to claim the 7-3 victory in game two.

Buffalo scored their seven runs in the nightcap, including all six in the fourth inning, without the benefit of an extra-base hit. The Bisons had seven singles in the contest, but also drew six walks, stole four bases, and benefited from three errors and a record-tying four wild pitches from RailRiders starter, Dom Hamel.

Trailing 2-1 following Scranton/Wilkes-Barre home runs from Spencer Jones and Yanquiel Fernandez, the Herd went to work in the bottom of the fourth inning. Josh Rivera and C.J. Stubbs got aboard with a walk and single respectively and Ryan McCarty kept the string going with a single into right field. Attempting a throw to the plate, Fernandez threw wildly to RailRiders catcher Payton Henry, allowing Rivera to scoot home and tie the score at two.

Carlos Mendoza followed with a sacrifice fly, giving Buffalo their first lead of 2026. Jonathan Clase kept the pressure on when he walked and then took off for second base on an attempted steal. When Henry threw wildly past the covering shortstop and into centerfield, McCarty was able to score on yet another Scranton/Wilkes-Barre error.

2025 Bisons MVP Riley Tirotta followed with a two-run single into centerfield and Josh Kasevich made it a six-run rally with his first RBI single of the year. In all, the Herd sent 11 batters to the plate in the fourth inning, with four singles, four walks and two stolen bases.

Devereaux Harrison earned the first victory of the year for the Bisons pitching staff. The righty worked three innings in his Triple-A debut, allowing just a run on one hit. Austin Voth started for the Herd in game two, allowing the two solo home runs in three innings.

The RailRiders claimed the first game of Sunday's doubleheader, 5-4, in 10 innings. The score was knotted at three after seven innings with both teams scoring a solo run in the ninth. In the 10th, Max Schuemann led off the inning with a rocket double that missed a home run by mere inches, striking the yellow line atop the left field wall. The game-winning hit left the bat of the RailRiders second baseman at 109.2 mph, easily scoring the free base runner Oswaldo Cabrera from second.

The Bisons trailed three times in game one, but continued to fight back. Trailing 1-0 in the third, the Herd picked up their first run of the season on Clase's sac fly.

Buffalo then found themselves down 3-1 in the fifth but tied it again when Clase's sharply-hit grounder to first base was too much form Ernesto Martinez Jr. to handle. The ball skipped off Martinez Jr.'s glove and into right field, scoring both Kasevich and Rafael Lantigua.

The Bisons had their best chance to win game one in the ninth inning. Brandon Valenzuela led off the frame with a sharp single to center to score the free runner, Charles McAdoo. Valenzuela was then able to advance to second base on the play when Jones's throw into the infield sailed over the cutoff's head. However, the Bisons could not advance the pinch runner McCarty any further as RailRiders' Yovanny Cruz retired the next three Herd hitters to end the threat.

Buffalo used six pitchers in game one with starter Chad Dallas recording five strikeouts over three innings of one-run baseball. Reliver Jorge Alcala took the defeat in his Bisons debut, allowing the unearned run in the top of the 10th.

The Bisons will have Monday off to head to Omaha for their first series in Nebraska since 1997. The Herd returns home on April 7 for six straight afternoon games against the Syracuse Mets the team is calling Anderson's Kids Week. Each game during Buffalo's next homestand will include $10 Kids Tickets, postgame Kids Run the Bases and the chance for kids to win great prizes from Anderson's Ice Cream and the Bisons.

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International League Stories from March 29, 2026


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