Herd splits twinbill vs. WooSox, win opener, 11-2

The Bisons came out hot, but the Red Sox pitching staff caught up as the two IL East division opponents split a doubleheader, Wednesday night at Sahlen Field. The Herd won the originally scheduled game 11-2, before falling as the road team in the nightcap, 4-0, to Worcester.

Nathan Lukes led the way in the game one victory, going 3-for-3 at the plate with four RBI. The first two runs driven in came right in the first inning, as Lukes clubbed his fourth home run of the season to get Buffalo on the board with a 2-1 lead.

Red Sox' Mark Kolozsvary promptly tied the game 2-2, leading off the top of the second inning with a solo home run. Worcester could not take advantage of a one-out error allowing Chase Meidroth to reach base as Chad Dallas was able to induce a pair of outs to leave the runner in scoring position without scoring.

Once again it was Spencer Horwitz and Lukes combining to push the Bisons in front of Worcester in the bottom of the third inning. The Buffalo first baseman doubled to open up the bottom of the third inning and scored thanks to another Lukes base hit. A single to right field allowed the Bisons to re-take the lead, 3-2.

More loud offense in the bottom o the third helped the Bisons extend the lead further against Brian Van Belle. Damiano Palmegiani added an RBI base hit for a 4-2 lead over Worcester. Will Robertson capped the four-run inning with a two-run single to left field that scored Palmegiani and Orelvis Martinez. Robertson’s 20th and 21st RBIs of the year extended Buffalo’s lead to 6-2 through three.

Chad Dallas was able to work five innings in his start for the Bisons, leaving the game with a seven-run advantage. Buffalo tacked on three more runs in the bottom of the fourth to balloon their lead in game one to 9-2. Lukes’ fourth RBI of the game pushed the lead to 7-2, and Palmegiani cashed in two more with a two RBI base hit.

Runs were scored in bunches again in the last of the fifth inning when Buffalo scored two more for an 11-2 advantage. Joel Kuhnel made his Bisons debut with an inning of scoreless relief and was followed by left hander Brandon Eisert to secure the final three outs in the lopsided victory.

The Bisons served as the road team in game two due to the contest being a make-up from a postponement at Polar Park in Worcester on April 4. Nick Sogard led off the bottom of the first with a solo home run to give the WooSox an early 1-0 lead.

Troy Watson started in the night cap for Buffalo, working three innings with three strikeouts. The right hander allowed three hits and just one run against Worcester.

The Red Sox extended the lead to 3-0 on a Niko Kavadas two-run home run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The Worcester first baseman also had a pair of hits and a walk in game one of the doubleheader.

That was more of enough for Red Sox starter Chase Shugart, who allowed just three hits over five scoreless innings for the win. He struck out six Bisons batters without issuing a walk. Rafael Lantigua had two of the Bisons three hits on the game, with singles in the second and third inning.

Neither team had a hit with runners in scoring position in game two. Buffalo went 0-4 while the WooSox were 0-6.

Ahead 2-1 in the series, the Bisons will host the Red Sox again Thursday night with a 6:05 p.m. first pitch from Sahlen Field.