The Waterloo Bucks (24-23, 4-7) found themselves on the wrong end of a late-inning collapse in an 8-4 loss to the Mankato MoonDogs (21-26, 6-5) on Saturday evening.
Tony Jenkins led off the game with a double, then stole third. An errant throw on the steal allowed him to score, giving the Bucks a 1-0 lead. Following a Dylan Phillips double and a walk to Matt Campos, R.J. Teijeiro ripped a two-out, two-run triple to left in the fourth. Mike Nyisztor led off the fifth with a double and later scored on a Bennett Hostetler sacrifice fly to put Waterloo up 4-0 after five.
Will Christophersen dazzled in his first collegiate start, taking a no-decision despite 5.0 scoreless frames of five-hit, no-walk ball with two strikeouts.
The Bucks’ bullpen collapsed in the sixth, seventh and eighth, allowing all eight runs.
Waterloo and Mankato end the pre-All-Star break edition of the four game series on Sunday at 3:05 p.m. on the Bucks Radio Network powered by 1650 the Fan.