Photo Courtesy: Ava Schiffert
FOND DU LAC, WI – The Dock Spiders led by one run, two outs away from their fourth win of the season. Then in the blink of an eye, were trailing the Mallards 8-6. What looked to be a promising win that could boost the team’s morale and potentially build some momentum was turned sour.
The Dock Spiders offense was able to drum up three runs in the bottom of the first inning. Connor Cooney (Holy Cross) was the sparkplug that ignited the rally as he laced a single to right field that gave the Dock Spiders a lead off baserunner. Then a wild pitch advanced Cooney to second base and then Luke Novitske was walked to put two runners on base. Mallards starting pitcher Giovanni Canales (Coppin State) was a reincarnation of “Wild Thing” on the mound tonight. Missing all over the place.
Dock Spiders left fielder Travis Strickler (Embry Riddle) was then walked to load the bases. On the very next pitch, Canales plunked designated hitter Paul Wittmann to bring Cooney in to score, which gave the Dock Spiders a 1-0 lead. The Dock Spiders grounded into a double play but still scored a run in the next at bat which made the score 2-0. Another wild pitch from Canales allowed Strickler to score after a spiked fastball was grounded into the dirt that got by Catcher Jayden Lobliner (Kansas State) that gave the Dock Spiders a 3-0 lead at the end of the first inning.
The Dock Spiders got a phenomenal performance out of starting pitcher Tyler Peck (Ohio) who retired the Mallards three up and three down for the first five innings in a row. The top of the sixth inning was where Peck ran into some trouble. A walk to the leadoff Mallard Jake Goolsby (Charlotte), then a single by Lobliner advanced Goolsby to second base but that was all the Mallards could muster as they left two Mallards aboard. The real damage came in the top of the seventh inning as Peck was pulled after giving up a leadoff double to second basemen Ryan Sprock (Elon) and then a single to designated hitter Owen Jackson. Right-handed reliever Zach Silfies was called in from the bullpen to play firemen and extinguish the rally the Mallards were starting but instead it just added fuel to the fire. The Mallards took advantage of an RBI double from Jake Goolsby and a two RBI double from Jayden Lobliner to take a 4-3 lead.
The Dock Spiders responded in the bottom of the seventh after a leadoff double from Luke Novitske (Cal State East Bay) set the Dock Spiders up with a runner in scoring position. Then an RBI Single from third basemen Jake Surane (UW Oshkosh) knotted the game up at 4-4. The Dock Spiders weren’t finishing scoring after that either as in the bottom of the eighth, a leadoff double off the bat of right fielder Jared Heinzen (Wisconsin Parkside) put the Dock Spiders in business. First basemen Seth Sweet-Chick (Nevada) layed down a sacrifice bunt that wasn’t played properly by the Mallards defense which allowed him to reach first base and advanced Heinzen to third.
Then he later scored on a wild pitch that got behind the catcher. Sweet-Chick scored a few pitches later on another wild pitch to give the Dock Spiders a 6-4 lead heading into the top of the ninth. The Dock Spiders found trouble from the start in the ninth as they turned to the bullpen by putting right-handed pitcher Mason Hill (Aquinas College) into the game. He issued a walk to Estevan Moreno (Notre Dame) and then a walk coupled with a wild pitch allowed Lobliner to reach base and Moreno to score for the Mallards. A single to left field from Jake Holcroft brought Lobliner into score. Hill was removed shortly after that for left-handed pitcher Kade Walker (Cuesta College) who surrendered an RBI single to Owen Jackson (Toledo) that brought Jake Holcroft (Portland) into score making it a 8-6 lead for the Mallards.
In the bottom of the ninth, leadoff hitter Paul Wittmann was able to draw a walk, but the Dock Spiders were retired in order after that giving the Mallards an 8-6 win. Will Morris (North Alabama) was credited with the win; Dock Spiders reliever Mason Hill was tagged with the loss. Both of these teams will be back in action tomorrow night in Madison at Warner Park. First pitch is slated for 6:05 P.M. CT.
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.
