FOND DU LAC, WI – The Fond du Lac Dock Spiders scored 10 runs in the first four innings to take the series finale, 10-4, against the Green Bay Rockers at Capital Credit Union Park on Friday night.
The win was the 30th win of the year for the Dock Spiders, and they improved to 30-27, 11-12 in the second half. The loss snapped a four-game win streak for the Rockers as they fell to 23-34 and 13-8 in the second half.
Connor McKenna (1-0, Illinois-Springfield) earned the win while Bryce Crabb (2-2, University of Northwestern-St. Paul) took the loss. Caedon Kottinger (UCLA) set a new career-high with four shutout innings to earn the save.
The Dock Spiders scored first for the second straight night when Cole Messina (South Carolina) notched his 37th RBI of the year with a single to put the Dock Spiders up 1-0. Dock Spiders starter Josh Culliver (Minnesota) would strike out the side in order in the second before the Dock Spiders exploded for six runs in the third. Daylen Reyes (UCLA) brought home a run on a fielder’s choice before Bennett Thompson (Oregon) drove home his first run of the night on a sacrifice fly. Two batters later, Nick Mitchell (Western Illinois) brought home a run on a single, and Branden Comia (Illinois) launched a three-run home run to right center for his fifth of the year. The home run put Comia in a tie with Cole Messina for the team lead and tied three former Dock Spiders for the sixth-most home runs in a single season in franchise history.
An inning later, the Dock Spiders would tally two more on another sacrifice fly from Thompson and an RBI single from Sawyer Smith (St. Cloud State) to take a 10-2 lead. The single was part of a four-hit night from Smith to tie his career-high.
The Rockers would score two more in the fifth before Kottinger went the rest of the way, striking out one and allowing one hit over the final four innings for the save.
The Dock Spiders return home tomorrow night against the Wausau Woodchucks, with first pitch scheduled for 6:35 p.m. Tomorrow night marks the final night of ‘Andrew Bullock Appreciation Week’ with a t-shirt giveaway for the first 500 fans courtesy of Horicon Bank. Bullock will also be in attendance for the special night.
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.
