WATERLOO, Iowa – Alex Dafoe retired the first two batters he faced in the fifth inning on Monday night.
He just couldn’t get the third.
The host Waterloo Bucks erupted for eight runs, blasting four doubles against Dafoe before he got the hook, and went on to trounce the Thunder Bay Border Cats 14-2.
Mike Nyisztor, Alonzo Rubalcaba. Reid Conlee and Ethan Copeland all hit two-baggers in the decisive frame, which was punctuated by Blake Wagenseller’s three-run shot off Thunder Bay-born reliever Cooper Lamke to cap off the scoring.
Conlee finished the night with four RBI to lead the team, Copeland and Wagenseller chipping in three apiece.
Noah Reed doubled in a pair of runs for Thunder Bay in the sixth, the only offence they could muster up on night that saw them collect just six hits on Brandon Vial and reliever Brett Lockwood.
Vial, making his final start, had a strong night, giving up six hits and two walks in six innings of work. Lockwood closed things out in the seventh, tossing a perfect frame.
The game was called after seven inning because of lightning in the area.
Dafoe’s final line showed eight runs on 10 hits and two walks, with a pair of strikeouts.
Lamke was torched for five runs on two hits and five walks in just two-thirds of an inning.
The Bucks improved to 12-16 in the second half, while the Cats dropped to 9-21.
