With 10 games remaining in the first half-season, the Waterloo Bucks are the front-runners to earn a spot in the Northwoods League playoffs.

The Bucks (19-7) moved a step closer to clinching the North Division's half-season championship when they beat the Thunder Bay Border Cats, 6-1, on the road Sunday afternoon (June 25, 2017). The victory was Waterloo's third consecutive and increased the Bucks' lead to one-and-a-half games over second place St. Cloud, which lost at Rochester.

Waterloo tallied two runs in the fourth inning. Drew Greenwood's sacrifice fly plated the first run, then Cole McDevitt followed with an RBI single down the right field line. Tyler Stover then made it 3-0 game when he singled in the fifth inning.

Thunder Bay (9-18) scored its only run in the sixth inning, taking advantage of a pair of fielding errors to cut the Bucks' advantage to 3-1. Waterloo worked its way out of a one-out, bases-loaded jam to maintain the two run lead heading into the seventh inning.

Stover increased the Bucks' edge to 4-1 in the eighth when he jacked his first home run of the season, a solo shot that cleared the left field wall. Zach Malis added a two-run shot in the ninth, his team-leading fourth home run.

Anthony Ruden (2-0) picked up the victory for Waterloo, striking out six batters and allowing four hits over six innings. Brandon Downey (5) worked the final two innings to earn the save.

UP NEXT: The Bucks wrap up their four-game road trip on Monday (June 26), again playing the Border Cats at Port Arthur Stadium in Thunder Bay, Ont. First pitch is scheduled at 6:05 p.m. (CT).

Story Contributor: Danny Frey - Waterloo Bucks

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