FOND DU LAC, WI – The Fond du Lac Dock Spiders used two errors in the ninth inning from the Wausau Woodchucks to win 3-2 at Athletic Park on Saturday night to finish a five-game road trip.
The win was the second straight for the Dock Spiders, while they broke the Woodchucks’ three-game winning streak. The win also places the Dock Spiders in sole possession of second place in the Great Lakes West Division, 8.5 games behind the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters. The Rafters magic number to clinch the first half title now sits at two with 10 games to go, meaning a Rafters win and a Dock Spiders loss would see the Rafters clinch a playoff berth.
For the fifth straight game, the Dock Spiders scored first, using an RBI single from Jared Payne (Charleston Southern) to take a 1-0 lead in the third. Wausau would then tie the game up in the fourth before Evan Smith (West Virginia) put the Dock Spiders back ahead with an RBI single in the fifth. The Woodchucks would respond again to tie it up in the bottom half of the inning.
Reed Gallant (Rice) led the charge out of the bullpen, striking out three in three innings. The Dock Spiders would then experience their first rain delay of the season, an 11-minute delay, between the top and bottom of the eighth inning.
After David Craig (College of San Mateo) struck out two in a scoreless eighth after the delay, the Dock Spiders would jump back ahead off two Woodchucks errors that allowed Garrett Cutting (Oregon) to score.
In the ninth, Garner Spoljaric (Embry-Riddle) would enter the game after a lead-off single, and strike out two, with Evan Stone (South Carolina) making a running catch at the wall to seal the one-run win.
Craig (1-0) earned the win while Spoljaric earned his first save of the season.
The Dock Spiders will return home tomorrow for seven home games in nine days, starting with a 1:05 p.m. game against the Woodchucks.
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’ 28th 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 280 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 (NYM), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and World Series Champion Chris Sale (BOS). As well as 2019 Rookie of the Year and 2019/2021 Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (NYM) and 2021 All-Star, MLB Gold Glove winner and 2019 Second Team All-MLB shortstop Marcus Semien (TEX). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website. League games are viewable live at watchnwl.com. For more information, visit dockspiders.com 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.
