MANKATO, MN- The Waterloo Bucks scored first but then the offense slowed down and the Mankato MoonDogs came away with a 3-2 victory on Sunday, July 16. The MoonDogs have won six games in a row.

The Bucks scored right off the bat in the top of the first inning on an RBI ground out up the middle by Tyler Stover then Joe Genord followed it up with an RBI double down the third base line to hand the Bucks an early 2-0 advantage.

Mankato was not kept off the board for long when Kyle Cuellar doubled to the gap in the bottom of the second to cut the early eficit in half 2-1. Kenton Crews tied the game up in the bottom of the third inning on an RBI single that barely snuck under the glove of Zach Malis at third.

Andy Fisher (3-0) did just enough through five innings of work to keep the MoonDogs in it while Ryan Garcia (2-1)  started the fifth inning but did not record an out in his first loss of the season.

Crews was up to the plate again in the bottom of the fifth with the bases loaded and he put the MoonDogs in front for the first time of the night on another RBI single.

The score remained 3-2 in favor of Mankato for the rest of the game as Naithen Dewsnap (8) closed the door with some help from his defense turning a double play to take the wind out of the Bucks' sails.

The Bucks enter the 2017 Northwoods League All-Star break for the next three days on July 17-19 including the All-Star game on July 18 with starting pitcher Kyle Leahy, relief pitcher Brandon Downey and catcher Jay Schuyler representing Waterloo. Joe Genord will hit in the NWL Home Run Derby that will take place two hours before the game. The Bucks are back in action on Tuesday, July 20 in Willmar against the Stingers at 7:05 p.m.

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The Waterloo Bucks are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. The 23-year-old summer collegiate league is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 20 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 160 former Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including two-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champion Ben Zobrist (CHC) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (BOS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET), Curtis Granderson (NYM) and Lucas Duda (NYM).  All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League portal. For more information, visit www.waterloobucks.com or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play and set the Bucks as your favorite team.