Waterloo, IA – The Waterloo Bucks won their seventh straight game on Thursday, June 5, defeating the Thunder Bay Border Cats 3-2 at Riverfront Stadium.
In Manager Darrell Handelsman’s 900th career game in the Northwoods League, the Bucks put together a stellar pitching performance by allowing only two runs for the entire game. Making his NWL debut, Juan Reyes led this effort.
Pitching six innings while allowing only two hits, a walk, a hit-by-pitch and one run, Reyes produced the third quality start of the year for the Bucks, striking out two batters in the process. With the score tied at two and two outs in the top of the seventh, Nakni Anna stranded a runner on second by recording a punchout.
After the seventh inning stretch, the Bucks responded to the Thunder Bay comeback with a run of their own. At the onset of the frame, Brody Leyboldt set the stage by drawing a six-pitch walk. Then, in just his second game as a Buck, Owen Ross hammered a deep fly ball to left field that banged off the outfield wall, pushing Leyboldt across the plate and putting Waterloo ahead by one. The double from Ross knocked in the final run of the game.
Anna returned to pitch a scoreless eighth inning, finishing the evening with three strikeouts and the win. Logan Boenker shut the door in the ninth with two strikeouts of his own against only three batters to get the save.
Marcus Heusohn and Jimmy Nugent both contributed with RBI doubles on consecutive at-bats in the bottom of the sixth to give the Bucks their first lead of the day after they trailed 1-0 at the end of the fifth. Heusohn led all batters with two hits.
Tomorrow, Friday, June 6, the Waterloo Bucks will play as their alternate identity — the Iowa Sweet Corn — as they end their homestand against the Thunder Bay Border Cats starting at 6:35 pm (CDT).