Bucks Avoid Sweep; Beat Mankato In Series Finale

A five-run fifth inning carried the Waterloo Bucks to an 8-3 win over Mankato at Riverfront Stadium Sunday afternoon (July 24, 2016).

Three hits apiece from Lane Milligan, Zach Weatherford and Robert Neustrom helped the Bucks snap a three-game losing streak. The victory also snapped Mankato's four-game winning streak.

Waterloo (7-9, 29-22) jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the first inning when Adam McGinnis brought Weatherford home with a single to left-center field. Weatherford led off the frame with a double and Milligan was hit by a pitch. Tyler Curtis then advanced both runners with a groundout to first.

The Bucks doubled their lead with another run in the second. Newcomer Kyle Crowl, a high school senior who committed to Iowa, drew a five-pitch walk in his first at-bat of the season. Weatherford followed with a bloop single to right and Milligan filled the bases with a bunt single to second. Curtis then drew a bases-loaded walk, bringing in Crowl from third to put the home team ahead 2-0.

Waterloo blew the game open with a five-run fifth inning. Curtis led off the frame with a walk before McGinnis reached on an infield single. Two batters later, Neustrom loaded the bases when he reached on another infield single. Brody Weiss, Alex Boxwell and Weatherford each had run-scoring singles, before Milligan plated a pair of runs with a two-out base hit to left-center.

Mankato (10-6, 32-19) scored all of its runs in the sixth inning, narrowing the deficit to 7-3. Waterloo then added another run in the eighth

Jared Crescentini (5-1) allowed three runs over 5.1 innings in the win. The right-hander retired eight in a row at one point and yielded six hits and three walks while striking out seven. Derek Hendrixson (3) recorded the save for Waterloo.

UP NEXT: The Bucks conclude their three-game homestand on Monday (July 25), hosting Rochester at 7:05 p.m. in the final match-up of the season in the SCHEELS Highway 63 Cup rivalry series. It's also the only Northwoods League game on the schedule.

Story Contributor: Jared Schlensky - Waterloo Bucks​