Bucks Blowout Kenosha, 9-1

Solid pitching and timely hitting propelled the Waterloo Bucks to a 9-1 victory over the Kenosha Kingfish at Riverfront Stadium Monday night (June 13, 2016).

After their seven-game winning streak snapped by Kenosha Sunday afternoon, the Bucks bounced back to earn a split of the two-game series. Monday's game also marked the end of regular-season play against the South Division, where Waterloo won five of the eight contests it played against Kenosha and Lakeshore.

Jordan Accetta (3-0) was stellar in his third start of the season. The right-hander tossed five scoreless innings for the second time this season, allowing just one hit and a walk while striking out four in his third straight win. Accetta has now allowed just one run in 15 innings, dropping his minuscule earned run average (ERA) to 0.60 after tonight’s five shutout frames.

Waterloo (11-3) took an early 2-0 lead on four straight hits in the bottom of the first inning. Zach Weatherford started the offensive attack with a double down the right field line, then Alex Boxwell singled to left. Tyler Curtis followed with an RBI single to left, bringing in Weatherford from third base. Adam McGinnis then doubled the Bucks’ lead with an RBI double.

The Bucks increased their lead to three with another run in the third. Boxwell led off the frame with a double before Curtis moved him to third with a groundout. McGinnis followed Curtis with a sacrifice fly to center, which scored Boxwell.

Waterloo tacked on four more runs in the fourth to go up 7-0. A bases-​loaded walk from Robert Neustrom increased the Bucks’ lead to five before a two-run single from Curtis made it a six-run game. McGinnis extended the Bucks’ lead to seven with his second sacrifice fly, this time to left field, bringing in Boxwell from third.

The Bucks added two more runs in the seventh. Neustrom and Daniel Perry opened the inning with back-to-back singles before Lane Milligan drew a walk to load the bases. Zac Sanders made it 8-0 with a sacrifice fly before Taylor Boyd brought around Perry with an RBI single back through the middle.

Kenosha (5-9) scored its only run in the eighth inning. Matt Hearn and older brother J.D. Hearn drew back-to-back walks to begin the frame before Marty Bechina scored the younger sibling with an RBI single to right for the final run of the evening.

Every Waterloo starter reached base at least once, while four different Bucks batters finished with multi-hit nights. Curtis and McGinnis paced the offense with three RBI each. Boxwell scored three times and reached base in all of four of his plate appearances.

Derek Hendrixson and Hunter Spencer each tossed a scoreless inning of relief while Andrew Muehlberger went two innings out of the bullpen, yielding one run on two hits and three walks.

Alex Hamilton (0-1) suffered the loss for Kenosha. The southpaw was charged with seven runs over 3 1/3 innings, allowing seven hits and three walks on the night.

UP NEXT: The Bucks conclude their three-game homestand on Tuesday (June 14), hosting the Rochester Honkers at 7:05 p.m.

Story By: Jared Schlensky - Waterloo Bucks​