By Josh Cook
Zack Cozart's RBI-single in the top of the 16th inning gave the Louisville Bats a 2-1 win at Lehigh Valley late Tuesday night.
The two teams had been tied at 1 from the fourth inning until the 16th when Chris Burke tripled with one out then Cozart followed with a run-scoring single. That gave Louisville (16-23) its second straight win in the first game of a four-game series in Allentown, Penn.
The Iron Pigs (15-23) got on the scoreboard first, scoring their lone run in the bottom of the first off Bats starter Travis Wood. Wood walked Melvin Dorta and former Bat Dewayne Wise with one out before John Mayberry singled home Dorta.
That was one of only two hits Wood yielded over eight innings while he struck out 11.
Louisville tied the game in the fourth when recent call-up Yonder Alonso hit his first homer with the Bats off Lehigh Valley starter Nate Bump.
Four Bats relievers - Logan Ondrusek, Jesus Delgado, Federico Baez and Enerio Del Rosario - then combined to hold the Iron Pigs to seven hits over the final eight innings.
Baez (1-0) picked up the win in relief. He gave up two hits and walked one, while striking out four, in the 14th and 15th innings. Del Rosario pitched the 16th to earn his first save of the season. But it didn't come without some drama. He gave up two two-out hits before getting Chris Duffy to fly out to Burke in center field to end the game.
Oscar Villarreal (0-1) took the loss for Lehigh Valley.
The Bats and Iron Pigs continue their four-game series at 7:05 p.m. Wednesday night at Coca-Cola Park.
