Waterloo and Thunder Bay conclude their two-game series on Wednesday night in Canada
Box Score: http://northwoods.bbstats.pointstreak.com/boxscore.html?gameid=317086
By: Jared Shlensky
THUNDER BAY, ONTARIO, Canada – A grand slam and a season-high six RBI from Iowa native Robert Neustrom wasn’t enough on Tuesday night as the Waterloo Bucks fell to the Thunder Bay Border Cats, 11-7, in the series opener. Waterloo trailed 8-0 through the first five innings and never led on the night despite having at least one base-runner reach in eight of the nine innings.
Thunder Bay (7-10, 13-38) went in front 2-0 with four straight singles in the bottom of the first. Shane Shepard drove in Jesse Lee for the first run of the game with an RBI single before Anthony Brocato brought around Andy Weber with an RBI single of his own.
The Border Cats added two more runs in the third, extending their lead to 4-0. Bobby Honeyman extended the Thunder Bay lead with an RBI groundout on the safety squeeze. A passed ball by Lane Milligan scored Shepard from third for the final run of the inning.
Shepard doubled the Thunder Bay lead to eight with a grand slam in the fourth. The grand slam for Shepard was his team-leading seventh home run of the season.
Neustrom cut the Border Cats’ lead in half with a grand slam to right-center in the fifth. The grand slam was the Bucks’ third of the season and the fourth home run of the year for Neustrom.
Thunder Bay extended their lead to 10-4 with two more runs in the sixth. A perfectly executed double steal by Lee and Shepard allowed Lee to score from third before Mitch Bigras put the Border Cats up by six with a sacrifice fly to left, scoring Shepard from third.
Waterloo (7-11, 29-24) trimmed the Border Cats’ lead to 10-7 with three runs in the top of the seventh. Neustrom increased his RBI total to six on the night with a two-run double to right-center, bringing around both Milligan and Jake Hand. Zach Fricke made it a three-run game with a pinch-hit RBI groundout to the left side.
Joe Gellenbeck put Thunder Bay up 11-7 game with a solo home run down the right field line. The home run was the second on the day for Thunder Bay and was the fourth of the season for Gellenbeck.
Bryce Reichmann (2-1) was tagged with the loss in his third start of the year. Reichmann allowed a season-high eight runs (seven earned) on 12 hits, striking out three and walking two over five innings.
Shannon Broussard (2-2) allowed six runs on nine hits over six innings in the win. The right-hander struck out four and matched a season-high with five walks.
Waterloo and Thunder Bay square off against one another for the final time in Canada on Wednesday night. First pitch in the series finale is at 6:05 p.m. (CT) with Brett Solano (4-4, 4.47) going up against Thunder Bay’s Dan McBryan (0-2, 5.94).
The Bucks begin their two-game road trip on Tuesday in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada, vs. the Border Cats. First pitch in the series opener from Port Arthur Stadium is at 6:05 p.m. LHP Bryce Reichmann (2-0, 4.91) gets the start for Waterloo while Thunder Bay has yet to announce their starting pitcher.
Waterloo returns to Riverfront Stadium on Thursday for a two-game series vs. the Willmar Stingers. Gates open at 6 p.m. followed by first pitch at 7:05 p.m.
Thursday’s game is a Twins Ticket Giveaway, College Night and a Thirsty Thursday. One lucky fan will receive a pair of tickets to an upcoming Minnesota Twins game this season. College students receive a reserved seat ticket and two hot dogs for $7.00 while bottled water, 24 oz. fountain soda, 12 oz. draft beer and small popcorn cost just $2.00.
All Waterloo Bucks games can be heard online at waterloobucks.com with Jared Shlensky.