Bucks Overbear Growlers To Complete Series Sweep [Video]

The Waterloo Bucks (16-12) put together a dominating effort to take down Kalamazoo, 7-2, at Riverfront Stadium Monday night (June 22, 2015).

Starting pitcher Tyler Day (2-0) (Stephen F. Austin) was nearly perfect on the mound, retiring the first 11 men he faced and was stunning over six innings of one-hit, shutout baseball. Timely at-bats and defensive dives also helped the Bucks sweep the two-game series. As a result of the win, Waterloo takes the season-series from the Growlers three-games-to-one.

Adam McGinnis (Western Illinois) powered the Waterloo (16-12) lineup with his second homerun of the season and two runs scored while Luke Stratman (Lamar CC) scored twice and added an RBI-double in the victory. Tyler Selesky (Florida Gulf Coast) notched his first triple of the season with two outs in the bottom of fifth as the Waterloo bullpen closed out season-finale against Kalamazoo (7-21).

Great defense and hard hitting story-lined the game for Waterloo throughout the game’s nine innings.

Much like Sunday’s game, the Bucks got the bats going early to take a 4-0 lead in the second inning. McGinnis swung at the inning’s first pitch and launched it for his second homer of the year to put the Bucks in front, 1-0. Then, Taylor Boyd (St. Jospeh’s) brought in Selesky with a sacrifice fly lined into right field for the 2-0 advantage.

Still in the second, Stratman belted Matthew James (Illinois) across the plate with a two-out double into right field. Stratman scored during the next at-bat during a pass ball to increase the deficit, 4-0.

The Bucks struck next in the bottom of the fifth, collecting three runs and a 7-0 edge. With one out, Zach Soria (Florida International) scored along with Stratman on a McGinnis groundball fielded for an error at shortstop. Selesky, then, tripled in McGinnis with a ball hit into the right field corner to give Waterloo its largest lead at seven runs.

Day (2-0) ended his night after six strong innings on the mound. The right-hander struck out four, walked one and allowed one hit in his six shutout frames against the Growlers.

Derringer Huff (South Dakota St.) took over for the Bucks out of the bullpen to open the seventh. After allowing a two-run homerun in the top of the eighth, and recording all three outs in the inning, Huff ended the night with two innings pitched, two runs allowed on the homerun, one strikeout and one walk.

Nick Yarnall (Pittsburgh) took Huff deep to right field in the eighth to bring in Stephen Letz (Northern Illinois) and put Kalamazoo on the board, 7-2.

Sean Trimble (Long Beach St.) closed the ninth for Waterloo with a scoreless, hitless frame to secure the Bucks’ third consecutive win. Soria recorded the final putout with a diving catch along the right-field line.

The Bucks now begin a seven-game road trip, starting with a the first of two games at Eau Claire at 6:35 p.m. Tuesday. Then, the Bucks travel to both Willmar and Thunder Bay for a pair of two-game sets before returning to Waterloo for an off-day on June 29.

The Bucks finish the seven-game stand with a traveling-doubleheader with the Rochester Honkers on June 30. Following an afternoon game in Rochester, the two teams will drive to Riverfront Stadium to conclude the day-night twinbill at 7:05 p.m. The two games with Rochester marks the first two contests in the SCHEELS Highway 63 Cup.

During the nightcap on June 30, the Bucks will have the Bill’s Pizza & Smokehouse Baseball Card Set Giveaway. The first 1,000 fans through the gate will receive a Bucks Baseball Team Card Set, presented by Bill’s Pizza & Smokehouse.

It will also be a Two For Tuesday promotion. Follow the Bucks on Facebook or their email newsletter for a buy one ticket get one FREE offer for Tuesday home games. One lucky fan will win a pair of Minnesota Twins tickets given away at every Tuesday home game.

Tickets are available at waterloobucks.com. You can also visit the Bucks Ticket Office at Riverfront Stadium or call (319)-232-5633. Bucks’ games are broadcast live on waterloobucks.com.

Story By: Matt Gruemmer