Waterloo, IA – Former Waterloo Bucks pitcher Dakota Bacus was called up to the big leagues Friday by the Washington Nationals.  With Washington resuming a suspended game against the Baltimore Orioles in today’s early action, Bacus entered the contest in the eighth inning, facing six batters over two innings and striking out one in his Major League debut.  Bacus becomes the 17^th former Buck to play Major League Baseball and joins Oakland A’s pitcher A.J. Puk and Chicago White Sox infielder Ryan Goins as former Bucks who are active Major Leaguers.

A product of Indiana State University, Bacus pitched for Waterloo in 2011.  The Moline, Illinois native appeared in 11 games for the Bucks, starting four.  Bacus finished his Waterloo career with a 2-1 record, a 4.39 ERA, and 19 strikeouts in 26.2 innings pitched.

The right-handed hurler was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the ninth round of the 2012 MLB Amateur Entry Draft.  Bacus made his way to the Washington Nationals organization, most recently playing for the Harrisburg Senators (AA) and the Fresno Grizzlies (AAA) in 2019.  Finishing last year with a 5-5 record, a 3.58 ERA, and 52 strikeouts in 46 appearances out of the pen for Fresno, Bacus was named a Pacific Coast League Mid-Season All-Star.

The Bucks, who are on the road in Rochester, Minnesota to face the Honkers tonight, return home to host Rochester on Saturday, August 15 at 6:35 pm.  Tickets are currently available by calling the Bucks’ Ticket Line at (319) 232-5633 or online at www.waterloobucks.com.  The Bucks play their home games at Cost Cutters Field at Riverfront Stadium which 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 nearly $400,000 in stadium improvements since the end of the 2014 season including group outing areas, painted bleachers, public Wi-Fi, sound system, kids zone inflatables, wiffle ball field, and concessions equipment.  Fans are encouraged to stay in touch 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. The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. Having completed its’ 26^th season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 22 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, over 230 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time All-Star and 2016 Roberto Clemente Award winner Curtis Granderson, three-time Cy Young Award winner and World Series Champion Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist (CHC) and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and World Series Champion Chris Sale (BOS). As well as 2019 Rookie of the Year and Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (NYM) and MLB All-Star Jordan Zimmermann (DET). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website. 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.