FOND DU LAC, WI – The Fond du Lac Dock Spiders (5-1) wrap up a two-game homestand against the Lakeshore Chinooks (1-5) at Herr-Baker Field for Comic Book Heroes Day at 1:05 p.m. The game will be streamed live on the Northwoods League Baseball Network, with pregame starting at 6:30 p.m.
TODAY’S STORYLINES
ANOTHER NEW FACE: The Fond du Lac Dock Spiders and Lakeshore Chinooks will match up for the first of 12 meeting this afternoon, the first of six at Herr-Baker Field. The Dock Spiders enter today tied for first in the Great Lakes West Division, while the Chinooks are tied for fifth with a 1-5 record. While the Dock Spiders have scored a league-high 55 runs on the year, Lakeshore has scored a league-low 17 runs and have been held to five runs or less in every game. Lakeshore boasts the fourth-best ERA in the Northwoods League at 3.18, and they’ve allowed just 24 runs through six games this year.
IT HAPPENS: The Fond du Lac Dock Spiders dropped their first game of the 2022 season on Saturday night against the Madison Mallards, a 7-4 loss at Herr-Baker Field. The loss dropped the Dock Spiders into a tie for first in the Great Lakes West Division with Wisconsin Rapids, while the Mallards broke their three game losing streak to improve to 3-3 on the year. Both bullpens were terrific, with the Dock Spiders limiting the Mallards to two runs while striking out nine. The Mallards bullpen struck out eight while allowing an unearned run in the fifth. The Dock Spiders were also held to under six runs in a ballgame for the first time this year.
A RUN FOR EVERY INNING: With three runs in the second inning on Saturday night, the Dock Spiders have now scored a run in every inning this year. The sixth inning has been the highest scoring inning of the year for the Dock Spiders, as they’ve scored 18 runs in the inning. The Dock Spiders have scored a league-best 55 runs, an average of 9.2 per game.
STARTING OFF STRONG: Outfielder Evan Smith from West Virginia tallied two hits in his first Dock Spiders game of the year. The Mountaineer tripled home two runs in the second inning with a triple to right-center, then tallied a single and came around to score in the fifth. Smith becomes the 10th different Dock Spider to record a multi-hit game this year.
CLOSING TIME: The Dock Spiders bullpen has been dominant over their last 10.1 innings of work. Since the sixth inning of Friday’s game at Madison, the bullpen has allowed two runs on nine hits. Four different relievers have combined for 15 strikeouts, led by David Hagaman, who tied his career-high with six on Saturday night.
I WILL WALK (A) MILE, AND I WILL WALK (A) MILE MORE: With a walk and hit batter last night, the Dock Spiders have now drawn 45 walks on the year, and have been hit nine times. That’s a total of 4,860 feet of free bases this year, or 0.9 miles. The 4,680 feet is second in the league behind Rockford, who have been given 5,310 feet worth of free bases. The Dock Spiders are a combination of five walks and hit batters away from being given a mile of free passes this year.
TODAY’S STARTING PITCHING MATCH-UP
LHP AUSTIN WAGNER (FDL): Wagner makes his second start of the year after he tossed six shutout innings on Opening Day against Wausau. The Fond du Lac native now has a 1.70 ERA in 53 career innings in the Northwoods League.
LHP CALEB STRACK (LAK): The Winona State lefty makes his first start of the year after alllowing three runs in three innings to take the loss against Madison on Tuesday. Strack threw 57 pitches, but threw just 24 for strikes, walking four.
