Coffeium moved south to engage Aegon and was able to cut off his most natural escape route, leaving him to escape north towards Grumentum. He was hard to pin down as he used the mobility of his cavalry to evade engagement until he was confronted on a hill southeast of the city itself -- not by the consul's army, but by reinforcements from the north and garrison from Grumentum itself.
By this time it was winter, and the situation complicated by the report from Decius that the remainder of the elite Aiakid force had been spotted. They had indeed moved west, but came back east with word of Coffeium's incursion. They were not nearly close enough to interfere with this battle, but any attack on Herakleia would have to involve dealing with them.
The Battle of Grumentum
Winter, 280 B.C.
It would more properly be termed the Skirmish of Grumentum. Three Roman captains, with Gnaeus and his Equites in overall command, faced Aegon and his cavalry. Further south, Laevinus Coffeium's army can be seen in pursuit.
A show of force by the more numerous Roman cavalry was met with a defiant charge through a hail of javelins. Aegon's heavier horsemen hoped to overcome their lack of numbers through courage and the weight of their attack.
Oscan infantry soon joined the fray for the Roman side, and Aegon fled a clearly unwinnable battle.
Though few of his men survived, the Aiakid general himself escaped the battlefield with his life. In all, 260 were killed at a cost of about 160 Romans.