FOND DU LAC, WI – The Fond du Lac Dock Spiders took the series opener with an 8-3 win over the Kokomo Jackrabbits to open their two-game series at Herr-Baker Field on Friday night.
With the win, the Dock Spiders improved to 16-15 on the year, while the Jackrabbits fell to 9-23. The win snapped a three-game losing streak for the Dock Spiders.
Luke Vaks (1-0, College of Charleston) earned the win after 3.2 shutout innings in relief, extending his shutout streak to 11 innings. His streak is one out shy of Austin Wagner’s (Mary) streak, set at 11.1 innings, for the longest by a Dock Spiders pitcher in 2022. Chase Barsotti (1-3, Menlo College) took the loss.
Parker Noland (Vanderbilt) tallied his fifth multi-hit game in his first seven games, smashing two doubles to bring his average to .462 (12-26) on the year.
The Dock Spiders scored first for the 10th time in the last 11 games. They tallied five in the first off four hits, including a triple from Jack O’Dowd (Texas) to drive in a run. The triple was O’Dowd’s first hit as a Dock Spider after joining the team on Thursday. In the second inning, the Dock Spiders tallied three more on four walks and a hit batter to take an 8-1 lead.
After the second, the Dock Spiders bullpen went to work. Tyler Tornberg (Rutgers) worked around a one-out walk for a scoreless third, and Vaks threw 3.2 shutout innings. Andrew Pogue (Illinois) entered the game with the bases loaded and two outs in the seventh. He induced a groundout to get out of the jam.
In the eighth inning, the Jackrabbits used an infield single and a double-play to bring home two more and cut the Dock Spiders lead to 8-3.
Christian Ruebeck (Kansas State) closed it out with a shutout ninth inning, touching 95 MPH multiple times with his fastball. The inning extended Ruebeck’s own shutout streak to 7.1 innings.
The Dock Spiders and Jackrabbits finish their two-game series on Saturday night at Herr-Baker Field. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. with gates opening at 5:30. The first 500 fans will receive a Dock Spiders Player Card set courtesy of Real Sportscards.
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.
