Eau Claire, WI – On Saturday, Aug. 9, the Waterloo Bucks defeated the Eau Claire Express 14-5 to finish the season as Jake Bechtel and Larry Edwards earned Waterloo single-season records.
With two outs in the top of the sixth, Bechtel roped a single up the middle to plate Edwards. The play provided both players with historic honors. For Edwards, the run gave him 63 on the season, allowing him to pass Chesny Young’s 62 runs from 2013 for the most in a single season by a Waterloo Buck.
The play also yielded Bechtel his 62nd RBI of the season to tie the mark set by Adam McGinnis in 2016 for the most runs driven in for a season in Bucks history. An inning later, Bechtel plated Marcus Heusohn on a sacrifice fly to take sole possession of the record. In the ninth, he knocked in Gannon Wentz to finish the season with 64 runs driven in.
Jimmy Nugent hit a two-run home run and a three-run blast to finish the year with 12 home runs to lead the roster with Becthel for round-trippers. He also cranked six long balls against the Express in just 11 games.
In his franchise-record 193rd career game, Heusohn roped a double and plated two in a 2-for-6 effort. He finishes his career as the all-time runs leader and the all-time walks king in the Northwoods league with 156 scores and 169 base on balls. His 68 walks this season set a single-season record for Waterloo. He ended his career on a 15 game on-base streak.
In his final game, Logan Boenker earned the victory, providing five innings of work while allowing six hits and two runs. His six strikeouts gave him his most out of any game all season.
Brandon Rice followed Boenker with three innings free of any earned runs. His five strikeouts also earned him a personal best in that category. He concluded the year with no earned runs allowed in each of his last 15.2 IP and a team-leading 26 appearances.
Cole Smith led all bats with three hits, and Bechtel, Heusohn, Nugent and Mitchell Iliff all collected two knocks.
Hayden Christman closed the door on the season with a scoreless ninth.
With this victory, the Bucks earn their 42nd win of the campaign to tie their win total from 2021. 2025 now becomes the sixth season in Waterloo history with at least 42 wins. Although the team did not make the playoffs, they finished the year with 21 wins in both halves.