Waterloo, IA – The Chinooks were defeated in the final game of a two-game series against the Waterloo Bucks on Friday, failing to score a run in a 0-3 loss that dropped their record to 2-2 on the year.

Waterloo did not wait long to jump over Chinooks starter Alex Rogers (South Dakota State), as a double by lead off hitter Daniel Perry (Iowa) kicked started the day for the Bucks in the first inning. Perry would advance to third on a fielder’s choice to the right side of the infield off of the bat of Taylor Boyd (St. Josephs), and then subsequently come around to score the first run of the game on another fielder’s choice by Tyler Curtis (Lynn) to give the Bucks an early 1-0 lead.

The Bucks came back swinging in the fifth, as left fielder Colin Kreiter (Kirkwood Community College) smashed a double to lead off the inning for Waterloo. Jake Hand (Southern Illinois) would later stroke a line-drive single that scored Kreiter from second, increasing Waterloo’s lead to 2-0.

Left-hander Brandon Baker (Georgia State) came on in relief for Alex Rogers with one out in the sixth inning. Rogers’ five and one-third innings of work were accompanied by little offensive support, and in the end he would be issued the loss with two earned runs on five hits in his first start of the season.

Waterloo’s attack did not cease in the fifth, as they continued to produce on offense in the seventh inning. Zac Sanders (New Mexico Junior College) finessed a single into the outfield to lead off the inning for the Bucks. Jake Hand and Matthew Paciello (Kirkwood Community College) would follow with two fly outs to leave a runner on first with two outs. Brandon Baker was then ousted by Chinooks manager Eddy Morgan and replaced by David Lemasters (Lake Erie) to limit the damage for Lakeshore.

However, Lemasters struggled with his command, throwing a wild pitch that advanced Zac Sanders to second. Lemasters proceeded to walk Daniel Perry and hit Taylor Boyd with a pitch to load the bases for the Bucks. The following at bat, short stop Tyler Curtis stepped up big for the Bucks with the bases juiced, drawing a walk to score Zac Sanders from third to give Waterloo a 3-0 lead going into the last two innings.

Bucks reliever Bandon Downey (Maryville) came into the game in the eighth and proceeded to pitch the ninth as well, shutting the door for Waterloo and earning his second save of the year.

The Chinooks offense struggled through out the game, particularly down the stretch. Owen Miller (Illinois State) and Alec Olund (Purdue) recorded the only two hits for Lakeshore on the day, as the Chinooks accumulated a total of six strikeouts as a team in their final game of their four-game road trip.

The Chinooks return back home on Saturday to square off against the Green Bay Bullfrogs in their home opener at Kapco Park at 6:35pm.

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The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. The 23-year old summer collegiate league is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 18 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires and front office staff, more than 140 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (CWS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET), Curtis Granderson (NYM), Lucas Duda (NYM) and Ben Zobrist (CHC). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website. For more information, visit www.northwoodsleague.com.