FOND DU LAC, WI – After the Mallards stole a game from the Dock Spiders on Monday night 8-6 in Fond du Lac. On Tuesday night, it was time for the Dock Spiders to get some revenge. Rain was spitting on and off throughout the entire day in Madison and it didn’t let up when the Dock Spiders arrived in town. Rain was coming down during the pregame festivities which prompted the tarp to be left on the field for all of pregame. The rain continued to pour all the way up until game time and it was decided that the start time needed to be pushed back from 6:05 to 7:05. After the delay, the game got going as the skies cleared up and the Mallards took the field. It seemed as though the Dock Spiders were affected by the delayed start time as they were sat down by Mallards starting pitcher Bryce Leedle, 1,2,3 in the first two innings.
It wasn’t until the top of the third inning when the Dock Spiders offense started to stir from slumber. Second basemen Jacob Anderson (Michigan State) got the ball rolling with a single to centerfield in the top of the third inning. The Big inning came from the top of the fourth inning. A single from Luke Novitske (Cal State East Bay) started off the rallying inning, then a groundball that wasn’t fielded in time allowed Travis Strickler (Embry Riddle) to get aboard on base. The Mallards defense committed an error on a groundball off the bat of Jared Heinzen (Wisconsin-Parkside) that loaded the bases with no outs. Drew Barragan stepped up to the plate with and grounded out to the shortstop Estevan Moreno (Notre Dame) which brought Luke Novitske in to score, which tied the game 1-1. Then a wild pitch during Jack Peterson’s at bat allowed Travis Strickler to score, which gave the Dock Spiders a 2-1 lead. With runners on second and third, Jack Peterson ended his hitting skid by roping a two RBI single into the right field corner to score Barragan and Anderson giving the Dock Spiders a 4-1 lead.
From there, Dock Spiders starting pitcher Logan Eisenbarth (Wisconsin-Whitewater) settled in and hurled five innings of four hit ball. Eisenbarth only surrendered one earned run and tallied three strikeouts. The Dock Spiders offense cooled off until the top of the ninth inning, where they found an insurance run. A leadoff double to centerfield off the bat of Sam Busch (Michigan State) and then a single from Paul Wittmann moved Busch to third base, then a sac-fly from Travis Strickler, which scored Busch and gave the Dock Spiders a 5-1 lead and they never looked back after that as Tanner Smith was able to slam the door on the Mallards in the bottom of the ninth, which gave the Dock Spiders their fourth win of the season. Eisenbarth got the win for the Dock Spiders, while Bryce Leedle of the Mallards was charged with the loss.
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.