Waterloo Bucks (18-14) starter Justin Beyer dominated the St. Cloud Rox (19-12) over 5.0 scoreless innings in a 6-1 victory on Friday evening. With the win, Waterloo can clinch the Great Plains-East first half championships with a win and an Eau Claire loss on Saturday evening.
Beyer earned his first summer win by scattering four hits and a walk, striking out three. The righthander piled up 10 whiffs on 80 pitches, working at a 46.2% soft-contact rate.
Tony Jenkins (2-3, 3 BB, 2 R, 2B, 2 RBI, 3 SB) began a monster day by drawing a walk in the third, stealing both second and third base then crossing home on a Patrick Ferguson (2-5, BB, R, HR, 2 RBI) run-scoring single, opening the scoring. Waterloo added to their lead in the fourth as Trey Leonard (1-5, R, RBI, SB) poked an RBI single to center, scoring Dylan Phillips (0-2, 2 BB, HBP, R, 2 SB). Jenkins capped off the frame with a two-run double down the leftfield line to score Bryce Wooldridge (0-3, 2 BB, R) and Leonard.
Up 4-0 headed to the fifth, Ferguson clobbered a solo home run to right. Jenkins later scored the Bucks’ sixth run on a wild pitch in the sixth.
Peyton Fuller picked up a hold with 3.0 innings of one-run, three-hit relief, punching out three. Brett Lockwood fired a 1-2-3 ninth with a strikeout.
Waterloo begins a four-game, first half-ending series at the Thunder Bay Border Cats on Saturday evening at 5:05 p.m. CT on the Bucks Radio Network powered by 1650 The Fan.
