FOND DU LAC, WI – The Fond du Lac Dock Spiders (16-15) finish up a two-game series against the Kokomo Jackrabbits (9-23) on Saturday night at Herr-Baker Field. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m., and gates open at 5:30. The first 500 fans will receive a Dock Spiders Player Card Set courtesy of Real Sportscards. Coverage of the game begins at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN+.
TODAY’S STORYLINES
FIREWORKS FRIDAY: The Fond du Lac Dock Spiders jumped out to an early 5-0 lead against the Kokomo Jackrabbits, which led to an 8-3 win on Friday night at Herr-Baker Field. The win broke a three-game losing streak for the Dock Spiders, and saw Fond du Lac take the opening game of the two-game series. Five different Dock Spiders pitchers combined to limit the Jackrabbits to three runs, which included a career-high 3.2 innings from Luke Vaks out of the bullpen. On the offensive side, the Dock Spiders tallied a season-high five doubles for the second game in a row, led by two from Parker Noland.
STARTING OFF RIGHT: Over the past three games, the Dock Spiders have scored 11 first inning runs. On Friday night, they tallied five in the first off four hits. During that span, the Dock Spiders are hitting .526 (10-19) with a 1.327 OPS. Nick Mitchell has set the table in the first, as he has reached base to lead off the first in six straight games. The last time he was retired in the first inning was over a week ago, on June 24, against Kalamazoo.
GETTING OUT IN FRONT: When the Dock Spiders scored the first run of the game on Friday night, it marked the 10th time over the last 11 games that it had occurred. Over that span, the Dock Spiders are 5-6. In the first 32 games of the year, the Dock Spiders have scored first 20 times, and have a .700 winning percentage when they score the first run.
LET’S TALK ABOUT THE STREAKS: With 3.2 shutout innings on Friday night from Luke Vaks, the College of Charleston righty extended his shutout streak to 11 innings, the longest by a Dock Spiders reliever this year. Vaks is one out shy of tying the team-high of 11.1 innings, set by Austin Wagner during his first two starts of the year. In the ninth inning, Christian Ruebeck continued his dominant start to the year with a scoreless frame to lower his ERA to 1.80. He also extended his dominant run against right-handed hitters, who are now 0-24 with 11 K against him this summer. Ruebeck’s average fastball velocity of 94 MPH is the highest out of all Dock Spiders pitchers.
PARKER’S WORLD: Parker Noland tallied his fifth multi-hit game on Friday night in just his seventh appearance of the summer. The Vanderbilt product is hitting .462 (12-26) this summer, and comes into today with a four game hitting streak. Over that span he’s tallied three straight multi-hit games and is 8-16 at the plate with four doubles.
TODAY’S STARTING PITCHING MATCH-UP
RHP STEPHEN SCHISSLER (FDL): Schissler makes his fourth start of the summer after he set a career-high with 5.1 innings and 70 pitches on the hill last Sunday against Wausau. He became just the third Dock Spiders pitcher to throw at least five innings in a start, joining Kaleb Hill and Austin Wagner.
RHP GARRETT BELL (KMO): Bell makes his third start of the year after throwing 71 pitches in relief on Tuesday at Kalamazoo. Over his last four appearances, which have spanned 18 innings, he’s allowed six earned runs, a 3.00 ERA.
