WooSox Split Wednesday Doubleheader in Buffalo

BUFFALO, NY – The Worcester Red Sox (17-18) and Buffalo Bisons (20-15) split a doubleheader on Wednesday night at Sahlen Field, with the WooSox dropping Game 1 11-2 before an impressive 4-0 victory in Game 2.

Niko Kavadas was an offensive star for Worcester throughout the evening, going 2-for-2 with a walk in the opener and blasting a two-run homer in the nightcap. He now ranks third in the International League with a 1.107 OPS.

Game 1: Bisons 11, WooSox 2

Enmanuel Valdez and Mark Koloszvary (COALS-vary) provided some early pop, but Worcester’s offense couldn’t keep pace with Buffalo’s 11 runs on 12 hits in an 11-2 defeat in the opener.

In his first plate appearance of the day, Valdez stayed back on a 3-2 slider from Blue Jays pitching prospect Chad Dallas (W, 1-2) and blasted it 398 feet to right center to give Worcester a 1-0 lead. It was Valdez’ second consecutive game with a homer, and his third in six games since being optioned to Triple-A.

Koloszvary unloaded on a 1-0 Dallas fastball to lead off the second inning with a big fly. His second home run of the season sailed 406 feet over the left field fence to give the WooSox a short-lived 2-1 lead.

Buffalo’s offense took over from there, as Nathan Lukes and Spencer Horwitz each went 3-for-3 with a walk, and delivered one extra-base hit apiece to go along with ten Bisons singles. Lukas went deep in the opening inning, and Horwitz roped a double in the third.

The Bisons rallied for four runs in the third, three more in the fourth, and another pair in the fifth. Lukes drove in four, and Damiano Palmegiani knocked in three.

Brian Van Belle (L, 0-2) struck out five batters in four innings, but took the brunt of the damage with nine runs allowed on nine hits and four walks.

Ryan Zeferjahn (ZEFFER-john) made his WooSox debut after a sensational start to the season in Double-A Portland (13.2 IP, 0 R, 22 K, 3 BB). He showed off an electric fastball that hit 99 miles per hour on the radar gun, and did not allow an earned run in his two innings of work. He struck out two, walked one, and surrendered three singles that led to a pair of unearned runs.

Game 2: WooSox 4, Bisons 0

Nick Sogard crushed Troy Watson’s (L, 2-1) second pitch of the game over the right field fence, and the WooSox never looked back in a 4-0 win, thanks in large part to an absolute gem from Chase Shugart (W, 1-1) in a spot start.

Known to WooSox fans as a standout reliever who capped off Worcester’s first-ever no-hitter on August 4, 2022, Shugart stepped into a starting role on Wednesday and delivered in spades. In his fifth-ever WooSox start, he set new Triple-A career highs with five shutout innings and six strikeouts, scattering three singles and walking not a single Bison.

Shugart hit the strike zone with ten of his 11 sinkers, got three whiffs on his slider, and ramped up his four-seam fastball to 96 miles per hour on multiple occasions.

Even after being stymied by Shugart, Buffalo still leads the league with 6.25 runs per game and a .278 team batting average. Wednesday's nightcap was the first time the Bisons were shut out all season.

Niko Kavadas padded the lead with a towering two-run blast in the bottom of the fourth inning off Paxton Schultz, and Nathan Hickey added a sac fly in the fifth to make it 4-0.

For his team-leading seventh home run, Kavadas used his quick hands to get around on a hard inside cutter and skied it 352 feet to right.

Sal Romano handled the final six outs of the game on just 19 pitches, surrendering nothing but a walk to Lukes.

The WooSox can even the seven-game series with a win on Thursday, with first pitch scheduled for 6:05 p.m. in Buffalo. Pregame coverage is scheduled to begin at 5:45 p.m. on the 98.9 NASH Icon WooSox Radio Network.