FOND DU LAC, WI – The Fond du Lac Dock Spiders (21-15, 2-0) return back to Wisconsin to take on the Lakeshore Chinooks (20-18, 2-0) at Kapco Park on Friday night. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m., with coverage beginning at 6:20 on the Dock Spiders Radio Network.
TODAY’S STORYLINES
BACK IN WISCO: After a quick two-game road trip to Kokomo, the Fond du Lac Dock Spiders return to Wisconsin to take on the Lakeshore Chinooks. Both the Dock Spiders and Chinooks have started the second half at 2-0, with the Chinooks coming off a road sweep of the Battle Creek Battle Jacks. The Dock Spiders enter today as winners of six straight, and are one of just three teams in the Northwoods League averaging above seven runs per game. The Chinooks have won four of their last five and feature the fourth-best pitching staff by ERA in the Northwoods League.
HEY NOW, YOU’RE AN ALL-STAR: This morning, OF Nick Mitchell and 1B Grant Hussey were selected to the 2022 Northwoods League All-Star game, held at Witter Field in Wisconsin Rapids on Tuesday, July 19. Mitchell is tied for seventh among all qualified hitters in the Northwoods League with a .362 average and is one of five players hitting above .360 with at least 10 stolen bases. Hussey is tied for the team lead with three home runs.
PUT ANOTHER ONE IN THE WIN COLUMN: The Fond du Lac Dock Spiders won their sixth straight win on Thursday night to sweep the Kokomo Jackrabbits, their longest winning streak of the year. The Dock Spiders scored in five of their nine offensive innings to take down the Jackrabbits 13-6. OF Nick Mitchell (2-5, 2B, 3B, RBI, SB), INF Jackson Loftin (3-5, 2B, RBI, SB) and OF Andrew Sojka (3-3, 2B, 3B, 4 RBI, 2 SB) all tallied multi-hit nights to lead the offense. The game marked the fifth straight that the Dock Spiders have scored at least 10 runs and the eighth straight with at least seven runs. The win also marked a season series sweep of the Jackrabbits, the first time in franchise history (since 2017) that the Dock Spiders have swept a season series against an opponent.
SOJKA’S INTRODUCTION: After a three-hit performance on Thursday night, OF Andrew Sojka was named the NWL Player of the Night. He became the third Dock Spiders player to earn an NWL nightly award over the past four days. Sojka joins OF Kyte McDonald, who won NWL Player of the Night on Monday, and RHP Reed Gallant, who earned NWL Pitcher of the Night on Sunday. Over his first two games with the Dock Spiders Sojka has gone 5-7 with a double, triple, four RBI and three stolen bases.
NICK MITCHELL AND THE MULTI-HIT MADNESS: With another multi-hit game on Thursday night, OF Nick Mitchell has now tallied multiple hits in five straight games, a new season-high. Over that span, Mitchell has gone 13-23 (.565) at the plate with three doubles, three triples and eight RBI. The two-hit performance was also his 14th multi-hit game of the year, a team-best. Mitchell has also reached base to lead-off the Dock Spiders first inning in nine of his last 10 starts.
TODAY’S STARTING PITCHING MATCH-UP
LHP DAVIS ROKOSE (FDL) starts for the Dock Spiders after a season-high four innings and five strikeouts in his last start against Madison. The Georgia native has allowed one run over his last two starts, a 1.29 ERA
RHP SCOTT ROUSE (LAK) makes his sixth start of the year for the Chinooks tonight. In his last start, on June 29 against Battle Creek, Rouse went five innings for the second time this year. Today marks just his second home start of the year and his first start against the Dock Spiders.
