Waterloo, Iowa – The Waterloo Bucks’ 4-0 win over the Thunder Bay Border Cats this evening clinched the first half championship in the Great Plains East Division for the Bucks (20-16). The second half of Northwoods League play will begin tomorrow, with the Bucks hosting the Rochester Honkers at 6:35 pm at Cost Cutters Field at Riverfront Stadium.
This is the Bucks’ first trip to the playoffs since the 2013 season, when the team won both first and second half titles of the Northwoods League North Division. That ballclub finished with a 51-19 overall record, setting an NWL record for wins.
With the victory, the Bucks clinch a spot in the 2019 NWL postseason and are guaranteed at least one home playoff game. The Northwoods League adopted a new playoff format in 2019 and the Bucks will square off against the second-half winner in the Great Plains East Division in a best-of-three series beginning on August 12. Home field advantage will be granted to the team with the highest overall winning percentage.
Playoff tickets will be available at a later date with additional details to come in the next few weeks.
The Bucks will host the 2019 Northwoods League All-Star Game on Tuesday, July 16 and tickets are currently on sale. The ballpark welcomed a new state of the art video board in 2016 thanks to a matching grant from the Black Hawk County Gaming Association. Team ownership has invested more than $300,000 in improvements since the end of the 2014 season including painted bleachers, public Wi-Fi, sound system, group outing areas, kids zone inflatables, and concessions equipment. Fans are encouraged to stay in touch with the Bucks by utilizing their website at www.waterloobucks.com or utilizing the Northwoods League Mobile App.
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The Waterloo Bucks are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. The 25-year old summer collegiate league is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 22 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires and front office staff, over 200 former Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist (CHC) and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (BOS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET) and Curtis Granderson (MIA). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League portal. For more information, visit www.waterloobucks.com or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play and set the Bucks as your favorite team.
