Published On: July 4th, 2020

LA CROSSE, WI – The Dock Spiders suffered their first loss of the season after dropping a back-and-forth battle against the La Crosse Loggers, 7-6 on Friday night.

 

The Loggers (3-0) got to left-handed Dock Spiders pitcher Jake Saum early, and batted through the first seven spots of their order in the first inning. La Crosse plated a run to take the lead right away, 1-0.

 

The Dock Spiders (1-1) would respond right away in the top of the second when Justin Bench lined a single into center field that scored John Rhodes from second base to tie the game at one.

 

Jack Alexander would reach on a walk that put runners on first and second for the Dock Spiders.

 

Taylor Jackson then stepped in and roped a line drive into center field. Bench would slide safely into home after the throw to the plate bounced to the backstop. The Loggers tried to catch Alexander at third, but a throw that went wide of the bag allowed the Dock Spiders catcher to come home and give Fond du Lac a 3-1 lead.

 

La Crosse took the lead back in the bottom of the third inning when Trey Harris hit a grand slam to left field to put the Loggers back on top, 5-3.

 

It didn’t take long for the Dock Spiders to answer back, as they nearly batted around the order in the top of the fifth. Jackson reached on a base hit, followed by a walk to Sam Novitske.

 

Parker Noland lined a shot into left that allowed Jackson to score and bring the Dock Spiders to within a run (5-4). Tim Elko reached on a walk which then brought up Tate Kolwyck. The Loggers attempted to spin a double play after Kolwyck chopped a grounder up the middle, but Kolwyck beat the throw to first which let Novitske advance and score. John Rhodes took the first pitch he saw to left field that plated Noland and put the Dock Spiders ahead 6-5.

 

Alex Vera came in to pitch for Fond du Lac in the fourth inning and tossed a gem, allowing only one hit in three innings of work to keep the Dock Spiders in the lead.

 

Both teams’ bats stayed quiet for the next three innings up until the bottom of the eighth, when Jason Hodges led off the inning with a solo homerun to center to tie it at six apiece. Colin Burgess knocked a hit to reach first, and advanced to second after a fielder’s choice. The Loggers took the lead after Luke Brown hit a line drive that got through Ryan Ritter and into left field. Burgess scored from second on the play and put the Loggers in front 7-6.

 

The Dock Spiders came close to tying it in the ninth after Noland reached on a walk, as well as pinch hitter Aaron Anderson, but the comeback fell just short as the Loggers held on to win 7-6.

 

Fond du Lac will look to split the two-game series on Saturday, Independence Day, at 6:05 pm.

 

The Fond du Lac Dock Spiders are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. Having completed its’ 26th season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 22 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires and front office staff, over 230 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time All-Star and 2016 Roberto Clemente Award winner Curtis Granderson, three-time Cy Young Award winner and World Series Champion Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist (CHC) and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and World Series Champion Chris Sale (BOS). As well as 2019 Rookie of the Year and Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (NYM) and MLB All-Star Jordan Zimmermann (DET). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website. All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League portal. For more information, visit www.dockspiders.com or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play and set the Dock Spiders as your favorite team.

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