Rochester, MN – The Waterloo Bucks accepted their sixth loss in their last eight games on Saturday, June 28, suffering a tw0-game sweep to the Rochester Honkers at Mayo Field with a 6-1 defeat tonight.
For the second day in a row, the Bucks fell behind the Honkers in the early innings, trailing 5-0 after the first two frames.
Reliever Alex Alberico came out of the bullpen first for Waterloo, extending himself through the fifth inning in long relief. He pitched five innings in total on the evening to tie Brody Leyboldt’s performance from May 30 in Mankato for the longest bullpen appearance of the year for any Bucks arm. In the process, he allowed just four hits, two walks and one earned run while punching out a personal-best five batters.
Marcus Heusohn got Waterloo on the board with an opposite-field, two-out double that plated Caleb Parker in the third. That run proved to be the last score of the day for the Bucks.
Heusohn and Owen Ross finished the day as the lone Waterloo players with multi-hit performances. Jake Bechtel was the only other Buck to reach base twice, going 1-for-3 with a walk.
Leyboldt and Brandon Rice combined for 2.2 scoreless IP with three punchouts to finish out Waterloo’s night defensively.
Parker and Jake Slade notched the only other two hits of the contest for the Bucks, and, with his hit-by-pitch in the second, Larry Edwards increased his on-base streak to 17 games. Ethan Rossi served as the only other baserunner for Waterloo, drawing a walk in the sixth.
The Bucks continue their road trip tomorrow in Thunder Bay as they commence a four-game series with the Border Cats at Port Arthur Stadium tomorrow, Sunday, June 29, at 4:05 pm (CDT).