FOND DU LAC, WI – The Fond du Lac Dock Spiders used a Nick Mitchell (Western Illinois) RBI single in the 11th inning to bring home the game-winning run in a 4-3 win over the Battle Creek Battle Jacks at MCCU Field in Battle Creek on Sunday afternoon.
The win clinched a sweep for the Dock Spiders, who improved to 25-22 and 6-7 in the second half. The Battle Jacks fell to 22-25 on the year and 4-7 in the second half.
Garrett Houston (2-0, Georgia-Gwinnett) earned the win for the Dock Spiders and Trey Seeley (Cypress) earned his first save of the season. Cole Altherr (0-2, Embry Riddle Aeronautical-Arizona) took the loss for Battle Creek.
The Dock Spiders started the scoring for the second straight day with an RBI single from Branden Comia (Illinois) to bring home Andrew Sojka (CSUN). The RBI was Comia’s sixth of the series. The Battle Jacks would jump in front off two errors in the bottom half of the inning to take a 2-1 lead.
In the fourth inning, the Dock Spiders would get back ahead off a two-run single from Mitchell to make it a 3-2 game. The Battle Jacks would tie the game in the seventh off a wild pitch.
The Dock Spiders would force extras in the ninth when Garrett Houston (Georgia-Gwinnett) worked out of a jam with runners on the corners after a diving play in the hole from Comia.
In the 10th inning, neither team scored. The Dock Spiders went scoreless in the top half, and the Battle Jacks went scoreless after Houston worked out of a bases-loaded jam with another groundout to short.
Mitchell played hero in the 11th with an RBI single to left to drive home the placed runner, Daylen Reyes (UCLA). The RBI was his 36th of the season, putting him in sole possession of the fourth-most RBI in a single season in Dock Spiders history.
In the bottom half of the inning, Seeley worked a one-two-three inning to close out the win.
The Dock Spiders are now off until Thursday night for the All-Star break. The All-Star Game is Tuesday, July 19 at Witter Field in Wisconsin Rapids. Starting on Thursday, the Dock Spiders begin a five-game homestand, starting with the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters.
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.
