WATERLOO, Iowa – When it rains, it pours. After seven and a half innings of baseball, mother nature rained on the parade of the Express and Bucks, and the game was called in the eighth inning.

Prior to the sudden downpour, the Eau Claire Express (6-1) and Waterloo Bucks (1-6) were locked in a low-scoring pitching duel. Both teams traded early runs with the Express plated a run using small ball. A walk to Peter Brookshaw led to a stolen base and wild pitch which got the Eau Claire shortstop all the way to third base. Then all it took was an RBI groundout from Reed Latimer to plate the first run of the ballgame.

Waterloo would strike back in the fourth on a two-out RBI single that scored Patino from third. However, the Express retook the lead in the next half inning on another small ball score. Brookshaw again reached on a walk, stole second, advanced to third after two more walks, and scored on a sac fly.

Eau Claire wasn’t done scoring two more in the top of the eighth to take a 4-1 lead. The Bucks were able to rally in the bottom half of the inning with two runners on, bringing up what would be the tying run to the plate.

However, that’s when mother nature intervened as the sky opened up drenching Costcutters Field at Riverfront Stadium. The game went into a lightning delay two and a half hours into the ballgame at 5:05. The rain didn’t slow down, and after a delay of an hour and a half, the decision was made to call the game.

Eau Claire took the shortened game by a score of 4-1 and secured their sixth straight victory as the Bucks took their fourth straight loss, and third straight to the Express. Game two of the series between the Express and Bucks is still scheduled for tomorrow at 6:35 p.m. You can purchase tickets at waterloobucks.com or watch from home on Watch NWL.