Waterloo, IA – On Friday, Aug. 1, the Iowa Sweet Corn defeated the La Crosse Loggers 7-6 at Riverfront Stadium as Larry Edwards became the single-season stolen base king in the Northwoods League.
After reaching on a single to kickstart Waterloo’s offensive effort, Edwards stood on first with nobody out. He did not stay there for long. On the very next pitch, he darted for second and slid into the bag face first. Stolen base number 56 on the season. Passing Chandler Simpson’s mark of 55 for the 2021 Fond du Lac Dock Spiders, Edwards captured the crown as the NWL single-season stolen base king.
In celebration, number five stood up on his feet, ripped the bag out of the ground and heroically held it high. He went on to steal two more bases in the contest, ending the day with 58 swipes on the season.
At the time of his first stolen bag of the contest, the Sweet Corn trailed 6-0, but Edwards’ achievement ignited a game-long rally. The Sweet Corn battled all the way back while holding the Loggers scoreless the rest of the way for their 18th comeback victory of the season.
With the score tied at six and one out in the bottom of the eighth, the Loggers uncorked a wild pitch that allowed Caleb Parker to advance from second to third. He did not stop there. In one of the most daring baserunning gambles imaginable, Parker tested La Crosse’s backstop who struggled to locate the ball. After running all the way from second without stopping, Parker beat the throw to the plate and put the Bucks in front for good.
Parker Bleck, Max Woll and Gannon Wentz combined for eight scoreless innings as Wentz earned his third victory of the season. After nine La Crosse hitters reached base in the first, the bullpen allowed just two hits and one walk for the remainer of the game.
Reaching base in his 25th consecutive game, Edwards is now just one contest away from tying Jake Slade for the longest Waterloo on-base streak of the season at 26.
The Bucks continue their homestand tomorrow, Saturday, Aug. 2, with a 6:35 pm (CDT) first pitch at Riverfront Stadium as the team takes on the Thunder Bay Border Cats.