The Waterloo Bucks took a three-hour hike north to Mankato, MN to take on the Mankato MoonDogs. Helped by 10 hits and a trio of Mankato errors, the Bucks punched home nine runs on their way to a 9-3 win on Opening Night.

After a run in the second inning put the Bucks up 1-0, Waterloo tacked on three runs in the fourth. Three straight batters plated runs for the Bucks starting with a sac fly to left from Jalen Smith. Daniel Irissari plated Charley Hesse for the second run of the inning and advanced to second on a wild pitch leaving Levi Usher to clean him up with an RBI double.

The Bucks didn’t look back as they would score three more in the fifth. The Bucks led 7-0 before the MoonDogs plated a pair in the home half of the fifth to try and close the gap, but it wasn’t enough. The Bucks beat the MoonDogs 9-3 and start the season 1-0 , as the MoonDogs fall to 0-1. Duncan Davitt picked up the win for the Bucks with a strong inning out of the bullpen with no runs on two hits and a strikeout. MoonDogs starter Shane Gray took the loss for Mankato.

For the Bucks, Levi Usher went 2-for-4 on the night with a walk and an RBI double. Xane Washington went 2-for-3 with two walks and two runs scored, and Charley Hesse plated three for Waterloo on a 2-for-3 night. The MoonDogs got a nice performance from second baseman Evan Berkey as he went 2-for-5 and drove home a pair.

The Bucks head back to the Cedar Valley for their home opener against the Willmar Stingers tomorrow evening at 6:35 p.m.