LOVES PARK, IL – The Dock Spiders (29-14) took game one of the two-game set over the Rivets (14-24) 7-2 on Saturday night to win their 16th game in the last 18.
Caleb Durbin (Washington University in St. Louis) started the game with a line-drive single to left and came around to score after stealing second and scoring on a Sam Novitske (University of Oregon) ground ball that got through third and into left. AJ Miller (University of Oregon) brought Novitske home on a single to center that put the Dock Spiders up 2-0.
Rockford made it a one-run game after scoring one in their hitting half of the first inning that made it 2-1. Two innings later they plated another that brought the game to a 2-2 tie.
Fond du Lac kicked it into high gear the next inning and took the lead for good following an RBI-single from Aaron Anderson (Liberty University) that put Fondy up 3-2.
The Dock Spiders put up four runs in three of the last four innings that extended the lead and provided insurance for the bullpen, who also pitched a strong outing in the late stages of the game.
Novitske brought home one in the sixth on a sacrifice fly to left field to make it a two-run lead. In the seventh, Bryan Javier (Campbellsville University) and Tanner Smith (University of Oregon) came home to score to take advantage of three errors in the field on Rockford. In the eighth, Dock Spiders newcomer Max Montgomery (Saint Xavier University) recorded his first RBI with the team on a sacrifice fly that gave Fondy their seventh run of the game to go up five in a 7-2 lead.
Ryan Loutos (Washingon University in St. Louis) pitched six innings and struck out five while allowing only two runs to record his third win of the season and stay perfect with a 3-0 record. Ryan Duffy (University of Minnesota) went two innings and allowed only one hit in his appearance out of the bullpen, and Theo Denlinger (Bradley University) came in for the ninth and closed out the game for a Dock Spiders dub.
The Dock Spiders will wrap up their short two-game trip with the Rivets and try for the sweep on Sunday afternoon with a 3:05 first pitch.
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.
