The Bucks lost a tight one this afternoon to the Alexandria Beetles, with a final score of 6-7. The Bucks gave up three runs in the top of the 8th to lose the lead. They came back in the bottom of the inning and were down by just one run but stranded runners on second and third and then left the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth. This puts the series at 2-2 and will make tomorrow night’s game the deciding game.
The Bucks started off the scoring in the bottom of the 3rd. Peter Leonello walked and Richard Gonzalez singled to put runners at first and second. Kevin Kaczmarski singled next, driving in Leonello to give the Bucks a 1-0 lead.
The Beetles scored two in the top of the fifth to take a 2-1 lead but the Bucks came right back in the bottom of the inning. A Thomas Lindauer walk followed by a sacrifice bunt by Riley Good but Lindauer in scoring position. Leonello was able to drive him in on the next at-bat to tie the game. Gonzalez was able to advance Leonello and Kaczmarski was again able to drive in Leonello. After Kaczmarski advanced to second on an error, Sean Borman drove him in with a double, putting the Bucks up 4-2.
The Beetles tied the game up in the 6th and 7th with one run in each inning and then exploded for three runs in the top of the 8th to take a 7-4 lead. The Bucks came back in the bottom of the inning after Davis Hendrickson hit a two RBI single to make it 7-6, but the Bucks stranded runners on second and third. The hard throwing Anthony Bazzani made life difficult for the Bucks again, consistently hitting 94 on his fastball.
After a perfect inning by Mikey Ramirez in the top of the 9th, the Bucks had a chance at a walk-off win but were unable to capitalize. After two quick outs, a walk to Kaczmarski and a single by Borman put runners on first and second. Jason Hockemeyer was hit by a pitch to load the bases but the Bucks could not capitalize, with Freddy Villalobos popping out to third.
The Bucks take on the Beetles at 6:35 pm tomorrow in the final deciding game of this five game series. After that the Bucks will be on the road in Thunder Bay for five games. Remember to check out waterloobucks.com for all your latest Bucks information.