Waterloo, IA – The Waterloo Bucks outlasted the Eau Claire Express with a 12-10 victory at Riverfront Stadium on Tuesday, July 22.
After Cole Smith kicked off the bottom of the first with a walk, Larry Edwards hooked a double down the left field line to plate the game’s first run and give the Bucks an early 1-0 advantage. From that point forward, they never surrendered the lead.
Edwards went on to steal third and eventually score to put Waterloo in front 2-0 after the opening inning. The swipe gave him 47 stolen bases on the year — just one shy of Lucas Moore’s single-season Bucks record of 48 from last year.
Waterloo followed up its two-run first inning with five more runs in the second for its largest frame of the day. The Express then responded with a two-run third, but, eventually the Bucks answered with four more runs across the next three innings to grab the largest lead of the afternoon with an 11-2 edge.
Harrison Dubois earned his first career Northwoods League victory with 2.2 IP out of the bullpen, and Kai Purdy-Burton was the only pitcher for the entire contest to allow no runs in his outing with two scoreless frames in the seventh and the eighth.
Edwards capped off his day at the plate with his third home run of the season to join Jimmy Nugent and Smith as the lone Bucks to drive in three runs for the contest. Caleb Parker ended the afternoon with a game-high three hits.
With a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the second, Marcus Heusohn earned his 100th career RBI in the NWL.
Tomorrow, Wednesday, July 23, the Bucks will conclude their two-game series with the Express at Riverfront Stadium. First pitch for the finale is slated for 6:35 pm (CDT).