Waterloo begins a three-game road trip on Friday in Minn. against the Mankato Moondogs

Box Score: http://northwoods.bbstats.pointstreak.com/boxscore.html?gameid=317114

By: Jared Shlensky

WATERLOO, Iowa – A four-run top of the fourth was too much for Waterloo to overcome as the Bucks fell to Willmar Stingers, 9-3, in the series finale. Thursday’s loss was the third straight for Waterloo at home and drops the Bucks into fifth place in the North Division overall standings.

Waterloo (8-13, 30-26) jumped in front 2-0 with a pair of runs in the second. A sacrifice fly from Luke Barry scored Alex Boxwell for the first run of the game before Lane Milligan doubled the Bucks’ lead with an RBI single to left-center.

Willmar (13-8, 31-25) cut the Waterloo lead in half with an unearned run in the third. A two-out Waterloo fielding error allowed Danny Mayer to reach base and scored Danny Pardo for the first Stingers’ run of the night.

The Stingers took their first lead of the night with a pair of two-run doubles in the fourth. Pardo recorded the first two-run double to make it 3-2 in favor of Willmar before Mayer put Willmar in front 5-2 with a two-run double to center.  

Willmar increased their lead to 7-2 with two more runs in the fifth. A perfectly executed double steal by Pardo and Tyler Smith resulted in the first run of the inning before All-Star first baseman Greg Lambert drove in Pardo from with an RBI single to center.

The Bucks made it a 7-3 game with another two-out run in the sixth. Barry recorded his second RBI of the night with a two-out RBI single to right, bringing around Boxwell from second.

The Stingers pushed their lead to six with two more runs in the seventh. Lambert plated the final two runs of the night with a two-run double down into the left field corner.

Jared Crescentini (5-2) was charged with the loss. Crescentini allowed five runs (four earned) on seven hits, walking four and striking out two.

Bradley Bailey (1-1) allowed an unearned run in three innings out of the bullpen in the win. The southpaw yielded two hits and one walk while striking out four on the night. ​

Waterloo begins a three-game road trip on Saturday in Minn. vs. the Mankato Moondogs. First pitch in the series opener is at 6:05 p.m. with RHP Kyle Leahy (0-0, 0.00) opposing Mankato LHP Dalton Lehnen (0-2, 7.14).

Waterloo returns on Monday for the finale of a day-night doubleheader vs. the La Crosse Loggers. First pitch from Riverfront is at 7:05 p.m. Monday game is also another Buck Night. 10 oz. draft beer, 12 oz. fountain soda, small popcorn and ice cream sandwiches cost $1.00 while hot dogs are just $1.50.

All Waterloo Bucks games can be heard online at waterloobucks.com with Jared Shlensky.