LA CROSSE, WI – The Dock Spiders lit off some fireworks of their own on Independence Day as they dropped 12 runs in a 12-7 win over the La Crosse Loggers on the road Saturday night.
Fond du Lac (2-1) started the scoring right away in the first after Victor Scott II (West Virginia University) recorded a base hit, followed by a walk to Tim Elko (University of Mississippi). That’s when Aaron Anderson (Liberty University) belted a three-run home run into left field to put the Dock Spiders out in front 3-0. Ryan Ritter (University of Kentucky), Drew Stahl (University of Minnesota), and Taylor Jackson (University of Illinois) all reached on three consecutive walks to load the bases. Knox Loposer (University of Mississippi) stepped in and drew a walk himself to bring in the fourth run of the inning and extend the Dock Spiders lead to 4-0.
The Loggers (3-1) scored two runs of their own in the bottom of the first off a two-run home run from Kobe Kato (University of Arizona) to make it a 4-2 ballgame.
Anderson recorded his fourth RBI of the game in the second after sending a line drive into center field that scored Scott II from third to extend the Dock Spiders lead to three runs and make it 5-2.
La Crosse got another run back in the bottom of the third when Kato launched his second home run of the night, a solo shot to center field to bring the Loggers to within two.
Tim Elko led things off in the top of the fourth and sent a no-doubt moonshot into the night sky at Copeland Park to get a run right back and make it 6-3 Dock Spiders.
The Loggers weren’t going down without a fight, however, and plated three runs in the bottom of the fourth on only one hit to tie the game at six.
The Dock Spiders had their most productive inning in the fifth that started with Jackson reaching on a walk, followed by an RBI double from Jack Alexander (Austin Peay) to give Fond du Lac the 7-6 lead. Things were just getting started in the inning, as Sam Novitske (University of Oregon) placed a perfect bunt just off the mound to reach first and advance Alexander to third. A walk to Scott II would load the bases for Elko, who lined a single into left to score Alexander and make it 8-6. Anderson came up next and roped a two-RBI single into right-center field that made it 10-6 Dock Spiders. Brayden Frazier (University of Iowa) would cap off the five-run inning by sending a line drive into left to score Elko and make it 11-6.
One more run would come across for the Dock Spiders in the top of the eighth on a line drive to left from Novitske that plated Jackson to run the score up to 12-6.
The Loggers would also get a run in their half of the eighth inning, but the Dock Spiders came out victorious to split the two-game road series and win 12-7.
Aaron Anderson finished the night with four hits in four at-bats, six RBI, and two walks to help propel the Dock Spiders to a win.
Fond du Lac pitching also had a strong outing; five different pitchers combined for 11 strikeouts on the night. Jake Brooks (UCLA) led the bullpen efforts with a strong performance, striking out five and allowing only one hit in three innings pitched in his Northwoods League debut.
The Dock Spiders will come home to host the Green Bay Booyah on July 5th at Herr-Baker Field at Marian University at 1:05 pm.
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’ 26th 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 230 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 (WAS), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist (CHC) and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and World Series Champion Chris Sale (BOS). As well as 2019 Rookie of the Year and Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (NYM) and MLB All-Star Jordan Zimmermann (DET). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website. All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League portal. For more information, visit www.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.
