Baseball Game Preview: Waterloo Cougars vs. Phillips Bears

The Waterloo Cougars will face off against the Phillips Bears at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Waterloo has five straight victories, Phillips has six straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.

On Tuesday, Waterloo was able to grind out a solid win over Cherokee, taking the game 9-6.

Jacob Hart

Runs

03/30/26 @ Cherokee	5
03/31/26 vs Cherokee	3
03/27/26 @ Tharptown	2
03/03/26 vs Thrasher	2
02/19/26 @ Vina	2
+ 3 more games

The team relied heavily on Jacob Hart, who got on base in all four of his plate appearances with three runs, one stolen base, and one RBI. He is becoming a predictor of Waterloo's success: when he posts at least two runs the team is undefeated (and 5-6 when he doesn't). The team also got some help courtesy of Landon Fox, who got on base in two of his four plate appearances with two RBI and one run.

For whatever reason, it's the away team that's had the advantage when Phillips and Brilliant meet (three straight games heading into this one) and that held true again on Friday. The Bears lost 18-11 to the Tigers.

Tiden Butler and Bentley Benefield stepped up to the plate in a big way. Butler went a perfect 4-for-4 with five stolen bases, three runs, and one double, while Benefield got on base in all six of his plate appearances with two runs, two doubles, and two RBI. Another player making a difference was Spencer Mobley, who got on base in all three of his plate appearances with two runs and one stolen base.

Waterloo's victory bumped their record up to 10-6. As for Phillips, their loss dropped their record down to 3-9.

Phillips' pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Waterloo hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .334. It's a different story for Phillips, though, as they've only averaged .225. Will they be able to contain Waterloo's hitters? Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more baseball content.