FOND DU LAC, WI – After a five-game road trip, the Fond du Lac Dock Spiders (13-12) return to Herr-Baker Field for a Sunday matinee game against the Wausau Woodchucks (13-14). Coming into today, the Dock Spiders have won two straight, including a one-run win last night at Wausau. It’s hat giveaway day at Herr-Baker Field, where the first 500 fans will receive a Dock Spiders hat courtesy of Summit Automotive. On TV, coverage starts at 1:00 p.m. on ESPN+ before first pitch at 1:05.
TODAY’S STORYLINES
SQUEAKING OUT A WIN: The Fond du Lac Dock Spiders scored the go-ahead run in the ninth after two errors from the Wausau Woodchucks in a 3-2 win on Saturday night at Athletic Park. With the win, the Dock Spiders won their second straight game to end their five-game road trip. The win broke a tie between the Dock Spiders and Woodchucks for second place in the Great Lakes West Division, giving the Dock Spiders a one game lead. The Dock Spiders pitching staff failed to allow an earned run on the night, marking the first time they’ve done so this year. The Dock Spiders also used six different pitchers to strike out 11 Woodchucks.
WRAPPING UP THE ROAD TRIP: The Dock Spiders wrapped up their five-game road trip with a win on Saturday night, winning their second game on the trip. Over that span, three different Dock Spiders hit above .300, with Daylen Reyes (7-17, .412) leading the way over Grant Hussey (7-18, .389) and Garrett Cutting (4-13, .308). The Dock Spiders also tallied four home runs on the trip, with three coming from Grant Hussey. On the pitching side, Reed Gallant tossed five shutout innings during the road trip, and Garner Spoljaric struck out seven in three innings.
AGAINST THE LEFTY: After tallying four hits on Thursday against Kalamazoo’s left-handed starter, the Dock Spiders are hitting .315 against lefties with a .407 on-base percentage. Multiple Dock Spiders have found success against left-handed pitching, including Evan Stone. Stone is hitting .444 (12-27) against lefties with just two strikeouts in 33 plate appearances. His 1.050 OPS againbst lefties also leads all Dock Spiders hitters.
TWO-WAY STAR: When Dock Spiders starter Stephen Schissler takes the mound this afternoon, it’ll mark his seventh appearance on the mound after he’s tallied 55 plate appearances this summer. Schissler is the only Northwoods League player to tally at least 50 plate appearances and over 15 innings on the mound. He also leads the Dock Spiders with eight stolen bases.
SAFE AT HOME: Today marks the first of seven home games in nine days for the Dock Spiders to wrap-up the first half. The Dock Spiders will take on the Woodchucks, Green Bay Rockers, Kalamazoo Growlers, Kokomo Jackrabbits and Madison Mallards over the final stretch in the half. Currently, only the Growlers are above .500, as the Dock Spiders split a two-game series with them between June 23-24 in Kalamazoo. The Dock Spiders last played at home on Monday, June 20 against Madison.
TODAY’S STARTING PITCHING MATCH-UP
RHP STEPHEN SCHISSLER (FDL): Schissler is set to make his third start of the summer after he retired all nine he faced in orderlast Sunday against the Madison Mallards. As a starter this season, Schissler has yet to allow a run over six innings.
LHP RYAN EIERMANN (WAU): The Southeastern commit makes his fifth start this year as he’s struck out 26 in just 20 innings. He’s struck out at least five in every start, including a season-high nine against Lakeshore back on June 1. Eiermann’s been dominant against rightes, as they’ve struck out 35% of the time against him.
