Waterloo, IA – The Waterloo Bucks have announced their schedule for the 2018 season.  The 24^th year of Bucks baseball will consist of a 72-game schedule featuring 36 home games.

Waterloo will open the season at home on Tuesday, May 29 versus the La Crosse Loggers at 6:35 pm.  Waterloo will close out the regular season at home versus the Rochester Honkers on Sunday, August 12 at 2:05 pm.

This season features a split-double header at Cost Cutters Field at Riverfront Stadium.  On June 27, the Bucks will face the Bismarck Larks for an 11:05 am start.  At the completion of game one, the stadium will be cleared and reopened for game two which will begin at 6:35 pm.  Both contests will be nine inning games.  Waterloo and the Larks will also play each other in a split-double header in Bismarck, North Dakota on August 1.

The Bucks begin their longest homestand of the season, a six-game homestand over seven days, on August 6, facing the Thunder Bay Border Cats, the Duluth Huskies, and Rochester for two games each.  As for the longest road trip, Waterloo will have an eight-game swing over seven days starting on July 26.  During that trip, the Bucks will travel to Duluth, Minnesota to face the Huskies for a four-game series, then head to Bismarck to play the Larks for four games over three days.

The final day of the first-half of Northwoods League action will be July 3 when finishes up a four-game series in Thunder Bay, Ontario versus the Border Cats.  The Bucks start the second half at home versus the Willmar Stingers on July 4.

This season’s NWL Playoffs will begin on Monday, August 13 with the Divisional Playoffs.  For the fourth consecutive year the playoff format will consist of back-to-back single-elimination games in each Division.  Both the First and Second Half Divisional Champions will have home field advantage on the first day of the one-game elimination Divisional Playoffs.  Opponents will be determined by the two Divisional teams remaining with the best overall records.  The First or Second Half Divisional winner with the best overall record will host the remaining team with the second best overall record on day one.  The First or Second Half Divisional winner with the second best overall record will host the remaining team with the best overall record on day one.  Home field advantage on day two will go to the team with the best overall record.  Day two winners will play in the Summer Collegiate World Series starting August 15 in a best-of-three format.

Breaking the home schedule down by days of the week, Cost Cutters Field at Riverfront Stadium will be the site of six Sunday games, four Monday games, three Tuesday games, five Wednesday games, seven Thursday games, five Friday games, and six Saturday games.  The Bucks will be home for Flag Day (Thursday, June 14 versus the Mankato MoonDogs), their traditional Father’s Day game (Sunday, June 17 versus the St. Cloud Rox), and Independence Day (Wednesday, July 4 versus Willmar).

The Bucks will play two games at home in the month of May, 15 games at home in the month of June, 11 games at home during the month of July, and eight games at home during the month of August.  Waterloo will be the home team for 17 games in the first half of the season and 19 games in the second half.

Home game times for the 2018 season are as follows:

Monday – Saturday games:  6:35 pm CT
Sunday games:  2:05 pm CT
Wednesday, June 27:  11:05 am CT – Game One of Split-Double Header
Wednesday, August 8:  11:05 am CT

The Bucks play at Cost Cutters Field at Riverfront Stadium where the team welcomed a new state of the art video board in 2016 thanks to a matching grant from the Black Hawk County Gaming Association.  Team ownership has invested more than $170,000 in improvements since the end of the 2014 season including painted bleachers, public Wi-Fi, sound system, group outing areas, and concessions equipment.  Fans are encouraged to stay in touch during the off-season with the Bucks by utilizing their website at www.waterloobucks.com or utilizing the Northwoods League Mobile App.

 

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The Waterloo Bucks are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Entering its 25th anniversary season, the Northwoods 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 185 former Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-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 http://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.