FOND DU LAC, WI – The Dock Spiders offense was left in Appleton after the 5-4 walk off win against the Rockers as they were sputtering from the get-go against the Rivets on Thursday night. The Rivets continued their hot hitting as they tallied 12 hits to the Dock Spiders three hits. It all started in the bottom of the second when Rivets shortstop Aaron Harper (NIU) lined a single to score designated hitter Carson Roberts which made the score 1-0. In the next inning, the Rivets found pay dirt again, scoring off of an RBI single by Khalil Walker (Arizona Community College) that made the score 2-0 in the bottom of the third. It was the same old story in the bottom of the fifth. Walker dribbled a ball to Dock Spiders shortstop Jacob Anderson who let the ball go right through his legs which brought the runner Bradley Duhon across the plate, which made the score 3-0.
A call to the bullpen that needed to be made was made as Dock Spider start Max Huseboe (Wisconsin Whitewater) was showing cracks in the armor on the mound. The Dock Spiders turned to Zachary Gaudreau (Northeastern Oklahoma A&M) Gaudreau wasn’t too much help to start as the Rivets took advantage of an error by Dock Spiders second basemen Jack Gorman (Presbyterian) to take a 4-0 lead. Gorman would later leave the game after being hit by a pitch in the back.
In the bottom of the sixth, it was more errors that plagued the Dock Spiders as a ball got away from first basemen Sam Busch (Michigan State) that brought Jack Scheri (Creighton) of the Rivets home for a 5-0 lead. Then in the bottom of the eighth inning, the Rivets tacked on another score as Khalil Walker lined one into right field that scored Nick Demarco (Notre Dame) which gave the Rivets a 6-0 lead. Entering the ninth inning, the Dock Spiders bats needed to be lights out in order to mount a comeback, instead they were lights off as the stadium lights at Rivets Stadium suddenly turned off in the middle of play. Both teams had to wait 15 minutes for the lights to come back on and eventually the Dock Spiders were shut down to end the game.
Rivets starting pitcher Brett Sears (Nebraska) was credited with the win, while Max Huseboe was tabbed with the loss. Both teams are set to square off in game two of the series Friday night at 6:35 PM before the Dock Spiders make the trip all the way to Traverse City for a two game series.
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 recently completed its’ 29th 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 300 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 and on ESPN+. For more information, visit dockspiders.com or 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.
