FOND DU LAC, WI – After going into the bottom of the eighth down 9-1, the Dock Spiders (22-12) pulled off a comeback for the ages and scored nine runs in the final two innings to get a 10-9 walk-off win over the Woodchucks (9-24) and secure their ninth win in a row.
The Dock Spiders went into Wednesday night’s game with a hot offense that had been averaging over eight runs per game in their winning streak and got a good start to extending said streak as they scored in their first at-bats of the game. Tim Elko (University of Mississippi) hit a line shot to right field that gave Fondy a 1-0 lead.
Santiago Garavito (Broward College) brought home two on a single to right field that gave the Chucks a 2-1 lead.
The Chucks would distance themselves from the Dock Spiders in the seventh inning as they plated five runs to take a commanding 7-1 lead in the late stages of the game.
The chance of saving the win streak became dim after two more runs scored for the Woodchucks in the top of the eighth that made it a 9-1 lead.
The bottom of the eighth is where things got crazy. Andrew Bullock (Charleston Southern University) would get the first run across in the inning with a single up the middle that scored Parker Noland (Vanderbilt University) to make it 9-2. Caleb Durbin (Washington University in St. Louis) reached on a fielding error that loaded the bases and brought home Elko with only one out in a 9-3 game. Aaron Anderson (Liberty University) then hit a fly ball to center field that Bullock tagged and scored on that made it 9-4. With runners on first and second and two away, Marcos Sanchez (Texas Wesleyan University) put a ground ball to second that appeared would end the inning, but Durbin went hustling to second to beat the flip to the bag to load the bases.
The hustle from Durbin paid off on the ground ball, as John Rhodes (University of Kentucky) would unload the bases on a crushed line drive to left-center field that allowed all three runners to score and bring the Dock Spiders to within two.
The bottom of the ninth was something to behold in Fond du Lac. Victor Scott II (West Virginia University) started the bottom half with a walk, followed by a Bullock line drive that was tattooed to the right-field wall for a ground-rule double, which Scott II scored on to bring the Dock Spiders within one run. Brayden Frazier (University of Iowa) came in to pinch run for Bullock, and Sam Novitske (University of Oregon) moved him over to third on a sacrifice bunt. Durbin put a high chop ground ball straight up the middle with the infield in that scored Frazier and miraculously tied the ballgame at nine apiece.
With Durbin at first, a pickoff throw went through and into right field (incredibly) that allowed Durbin to advance all the way to third base. Two batters later, Jack Alexander (Austin Peay) sent a sacrifice fly ball into deep center field that was plenty far enough for Durbin to tag and score on to cap off the incredible comeback and give the Dock Spiders the 10-9 walk-off win.
The walk-off victory was the second of the season for Fondy, just days after coming back to stun the La Crosse Loggers at home to win 8-7 in extra innings.
The Dock Spiders will have a tall task in trying to extend their win streak to 10 games as they will face the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters at 6:35 pm on the road on Thursday night.
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.
