Thunder Bay, ON – The Waterloo Bucks lost their third straight game for the first time in 2025 on Sunday, June 29, falling 12-3 to the Thunder Bay Border Cats at Port Arthur Stadium.<\/p>\n
With this defeat, the Bucks have officially been eliminated from winning the first half title in the Great Plains East Division. Today marks just the sixth time this season the Bucks squandered a lead and eventually lost the game. However, as was the case this evening, three of those six times came to fruition when Waterloo played Thunder Bay.<\/p>\n
The Bucks struck first with a two-run single up the middle in the top of the second off the bat of Owen Ross, scoring Parker Sweeney and Brody Leyboldt.<\/p>\n
Eli Pillsbury dealt four scoreless innings and allowed only one hit as the starting hurler, but the Border Cats offense exploded immediately after he made his exit. Thunder Bay scored five runs in the fifth and seven in the sixth for the largest run total the Bucks have surrendered in any inning so far this year.<\/p>\n
The surge escalated due to Waterloo tying an NWL season-high of 18 walks allowed, giving the Border Cats all the run support they needed.<\/p>\n
Larry Edwards drove in the final run of the day with an opposite-field double into right-center field that plated Caleb Parker and extended his on-base streak to 18 games.<\/p>\n
Game two of the four-game set takes place at Port Arthur Stadium tomorrow at 6:35 pm (CDT) as the Bucks look to end their three-game skid with Parker Sweeney taking on Cameron Johnson for the final game of the first half.<\/p>\n