Willmar, MN – Ty Taylor (Oklahoma) got the start for Waterloo and held the Stingers in check all night. It was a sloppy defensive game for both teams that saw eight combined errors but the Bucks did just enough offensively to get the win. They rode the momentum from Saturday’s walk-off victory over Thunder Bay at home and improved their record to 23-23 including 4-7 in the second half. Willmar falls to 27-19 and 7-4 during the second half of the season.
Neither team scored until the fourth inning when the hosts struck first in the bottom of the frame. The first batter reached on an error by the second baseman Nico Zych as errors would become a trend on the evening. Kenny Roberts then brought in that run with an RBI double.
In the top of the fifth, the blue and yellow would take a 2-1 lead. It began with a single from Freddy Villalobos who then stole second. Jason Hockemeyer was hit by a pitch to put runners on first and second. The next batter, Davis Hendrickson brought in Villalobos with an RBI single to left field. Hendrickson then advanced to second and Hockemeyer to third on a throwing error by the left fielder. Zych then got the second run in on a fielder’s choice.
The visitors would score two more the very next inning to take a 4-1 advantage. Benny Roberts hit a leadoff double down the right field line and advanced to third on a groundout from Dan Sheppard. Kevin Kaczmarski brought in Roberts with an RBI groundout. Sean Borman started things up again with a double and Villalobos reached first on an error by the third baseman. Borman scored on that error to put Waterloo up by three.
The home team would score two more in the bottom of the seventh to make the score 4-3 but the Bucks’ pitching led them to a victory for their second win in a row.
Taylor didn’t do so well his first two outings for Waterloo, both of which were in relief. Since then, he has made two very effective starts. The last one came July 8 in which the Cleburne, Texas native gave up four runs, only one earned in six innings of work. Tonight, he threw seven innings and gave up three runs, just one earned on seven hits while striking out and walking four a piece. With the win, Taylor improves to 2-1.
In relief, Brett Andrzejewski pitched a scoreless inning. Then came Jordan Foley making his first relief appearance of the summer. Foley took care of business with one shutout inning while striking out one and walking one giving him his first save of the season.
Kyle Fischer took his first loss of 2012 and falls to 3-1.
Six Bucks had one hit each while Kaczmarski, Hendrickson and Zych each had an RBI.
Next up is the second game of this series. First pitch Monday night is set for 7:05 p.m. Remember to keep checking into www.waterloobucks.com for all your latest information on The Cedar Valley’s Home Team.