DULUTH, Minn – Despite falling in an early hole, the Bucks were rallying at the end of the sixth inning, but that’s when Mother Nature reared her ugly head.

The Waterloo Bucks (5-18) went down 2-0 after an inning of play when the Duluth Huskies (13-11) used three consecutive base hits, including two doubles, to take the lead.

Tai Walton and Ryan Grabosch were not fans of that idea as Walton laid down a drag bunt, followed by Grabosch launching a no-doubt home run to left field to tie the game at two apiece.

The Huskies would spend the third and fourth building their lead back with a run in each frame, the first on a hit batter with the bases loaded in the third, and then an RBI single by Eduardo Rosario to give the Huskies back their two-run lead.

The Bucks yet again would battle back in the sixth when Naighel Calderon drove in Jake Wilhoit from second base with a single into the outfield. A scoreless bottom half of the inning gave all the momentum to Waterloo when Mother Nature called.

A lightning delay lasting an hour and 33 minutes stopped play from 8:40 to 10:13 when play was finally resumed. Nolan Lebamoff came into the ballgame for Duluth and allowed two Buck runners in the eighth, but an inning-ending strikeout ended the chance for the Bucks with a runner in scoring position.

Blake Benson took the mound for the Bucks following the delay, as he pitched two perfect innings in the seventh and eighth to give the Bucks their best chance with just a one-run deficit in the ninth. Again, the Bucks would get two runners aboard, this time on Husky closer Jake Christianson.

A dropped third strike allowed Naighel Calderon to reach, followed by a Raphael Pelletier hit-by-pitch to put two runners aboard with one out. However, Christianson would strike out the next two batters he faced to end the ballgame and give the Huskies the 4-3 victory.

The game was the second extended rain delay the Bucks took part in and the first in which they resumed the game. The Huskies protected the one-run lead after the delay and move into second place in the Great Plains East, just half a game behind the subdivision-leading Express.

Meanwhile, for the Bucks, their first-half elimination number is one. Meaning an Express win on Friday or a Bucks loss will mathematically eliminate the Bucks from winning the first half of the season for the second year in a row.

The Bucks again face the Duluth Huskies tomorrow at 6:35 p.m. in their final regular-season game from Wade Stadium. You can listen to the game and all Bucks road games on waterloobucks.com.