Rochester, MN – The Waterloo Bucks won their sixth straight game on Wednesday, June 4, by defeating the Rochester Honkers 7-5 at Mayo Field to move to 8-1 overall and 4-0 on the road.
With Ian Halverson standing on first base and the score tied at five with one out in the top of the ninth, Mack Brousseau launched a mammoth blast over the left-center field wall, putting the Bucks ahead by two. As he rounded third, Brousseau tapped either side of his head with both his hands as he pridefully motioned to the electrified Waterloo dugout with the universal “antlers up” celebration.
Left fielder Trey Butler also contributed with a difference-making two runs driven in by yanking his first of two doubles on the day into the right field corner with two outs in the top of the fifth. The extra-base hit scored Brousseau and Owen Ross, giving the Bucks the largest lead for the entire game for either side with a 5-1 advantage.
In his debut with Waterloo, Ross singled and tripled in four at-bats with three steals on the basepaths. Jake Slade added in two hits and two runs, and Marcus Heusohn reached base in all five of his plate appearances.
Starting pitcher Chris Peterson pitched five innings, allowing three earned runs on five hits and no walks while striking out five. Relivers Brandon Rice, Alex Alberico (also making his Bucks debut), Tyler Glowacki and Brody Leyboldt all followed with scoreless frames to seal the deal. Glowacki earned the win with two punchouts in the eighth, and Leyboldt picked up the save by getting all three of his batters to go down looking on strikes.
The Bucks return to Riverfront Stadium tomorrow, Thursday, June 5, for the start of a two-game series against the Thunder Bay Border Cats. First pitch is set for 6:35 pm (CDT).