Buffalo's baseball season begins with feel-good win

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) -- Joey Loperfido had a good feeling about the ball blasting off his bat at 113 mph. The winds coming off Lake Erie make right field a difficult place to hit home runs, but Loperfido powered one 429 feet in the eighth inning to put the finishing touch on a season-opening victory for the Bisons.

"They feel twice as good on Opening Day," Loperfido noted.

Loperfido also scored the first run on the earliest opening day in Buffalo's baseball history, running home from third base on an Ali Sanchez groundout in the second inning. The New Jersey native acquired by the Blue Jays from the Houston Astros organization in a trade last season braced for the cold in his first time playing at Sahlen Field.

"I'll definitely get bundled up out there," Loperfido said. "But it's a nice park. I know we've got a great fanbase and I've enjoyed my time here in Buffalo so far."

The temperature was 50 degrees when Acting Mayor Chris Scanlon threw the ceremonial first pitch, validating the Bisons' guarantee for spring weather. However, the sun never made an appearance. With 8,226 tickets distributed, a few thousand fans settled into the downtown ballpark for a rite of spring that has encroached the calendar. March 28 marked the earliest start to a minor league baseball season in 74 years.

"It's just fun to play well the first game in front of the fans and maybe give them something to look at and go, hey we'll come back to another game and come back in the summer when it's nicer," manager Casey Candael said. "But it was beautiful out there as far as I'm concerned. Especially when you win."

The Bisons won the opener with a four-run rally in the sixth inning. Addison Barger and Damiano Palmegiani both got hit by pitches, and Michael Stefanic doubled them home for the go-ahead runs. Riley Tirotta hit a double to score Stefanic, and Rainer Nunez drove in Sanchez with a sac fly to make it a 5-2 lead.

"It's great," Stefanic said. "Any time you can help your team win, get a go-ahead hit, that's huge. I felt good about the day, good about the win."

The Bisons continue their opening homestand with Saturday and Sunday matinee games. Fans age 14 an under can get in free with purchase of an adult ticket. There will be a mascot meet and greet prior to the 1 p.m. starts, and kids can run the bases after Sunday's game. Fans with tickets from Friday's game can get a free ticket to an April game as the Bisons are honoring their spring guarantee even though the temperature rose above 50.