Duluth, MN – The Waterloo Bucks dropped the finale to the Duluth Huskies 8-3 on Friday, July 25, at Wade Stadium as Larry Edwards became Waterloo’s single-season stolen base leader.
With two outs in the top of the seventh, Edwards darted for second base on a 1-0 pitch to his McNeese State University teammate Marcus Heusohn. Sliding in face first to the base, Edwards beat the throw and clung to the bag. He stole the bag and passed Lucas Moore’s mark of 48 steals from last year to take the record.
As he stood up on the bag and puffed out his chest, he stood alone. In that moment, he had become the lone Buck to steal 49 bases in a single season.
He then proceeded to steal third and home on the same trip around the basepaths, bringing his total to 51 for the campaign. Now, Edwards eyes the Northwoods League single-season record of 55 set by Chandler Simpson of the Fond du Lac Dock Spiders in 2021.
Just like yesterday, the Bucks scored three runs in the top of the seventh. However, just like yesterday, those were the only three runs the Bucks would get all day. As a result, they split with Duluth for the fourth straight two-game series against the Huskies this year.
Jake Bechtel, Owen Ross, and Edwards drove in the only runs of the game for Waterloo, and Mitchell Iliff picked up his first NWL hit.
In his Waterloo Bucks debut, Jaden Alberson dealt two scoreless frames with a punchout. Kai Purdy-Burton and Brandon Rice both followed that performance up with scoreless innings of their own.
With an opposite-field single in the seventh, Jake Slade reached base in his 26th consecutive game. Edwards also extended his on-base streak as he has now gotten aboard in each of his last 19 contests.
Tomorrow, Saturday, July 26, the Bucks travel to St. Cloud to take on the Rox at Joe Faber Field to kick off a two-game series. First pitch in game one is slated for 6:05 pm (CDT).