BISMARCK, N.D.- A strong showing from Ryan Garcia (3-1) plus a dominant bullpen performance propelled the Waterloo Bucks (32-24) past the Bismarck Larks (26-29) 5-1 to split the doubleheader and the four game series.
Brandon Gutzler delivered an early Bucks lead with an RBI single to left center in the top of the first. Garcia already racked up seven strikeouts after three innings of play.
In the top of the fifth inning, Gutzler drove in another run on a sac-fly to right field adding to a Bucks 2-0 lead. J.C. Bonilla (1-1) struck out five batters over five and third innings in his first start of the season.
Garcia finished with a whopping 10 strikeouts over five and a third innings and with two runners on in the bottom of the sixth, Matthew Perea on one pitch forced an inning ending double play.
The next run didn't come around until the top of the eighth inning on an RBI infield single up the middle by Keaton Presley. Waterloo added two more insurance runs in the top of the ninth on an RBI groundout from Grant Hawkins and an RBI single by Drew Greenwood in the top of the ninth extending the lead to 5-0.
Bismarck did not go quietly in the bottom of the ninth as Quinn Irey drove in a run on an RBI sac-fly to right field but Ryan Dunne (5) was summoned out of the bullpen to finish the job and he did just that.
The Bucks continue their five day, six game road trip with a two game series at Eau Claire starting tomorrow, July 27 at 6:35 p.m. from Carson Park.
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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.