FOND DU LAC, WI – The Fond du Lac Dock Spiders fell to the Madison Mallards 7-4, snapping their five-game win streak to start the year.

The loss drops the Dock Spiders to 5-1, tied with the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters for the lead in the Great Lakes West Division. The win snaps the Mallards three game losing streak, and sees their record improve to 3-3 on the year.

The Mallards tallied two runs in the second to take a 2-0 lead, but the Dock Spiders rallied for three runs in the bottom half of the inning to take a 3-2 lead. Luke Novitske (Cal State East Bay) lined a single to center to score Connor Manthey (Bradley). The next batter, Evan Smith (West Virginia), lined a triple to the wall in right-center to score Cole Messina (South Carolina) and Novitske. The triple was Smith’s first hit as a Dock Spider, part of a two-hit night.

In the third, the Mallards scored three runs on three singles, a walk and a sacrifice fly to retake the lead at 5-3. The Dock Spiders were unable to get any closer, matching the Mallards run in the fifth with one of their own to keep the deficit at two.

The Mallards bullpen combined for six innings of shutout pitching with eight strikeouts and a walk, while the Dock Spiders bullpen allowed two runs in six innings with nine strikeouts and two walks.

Seth Morano (1-1) earned the win after three and a third innings of relief, while Dock Spiders starter Reed Gallant (1-1) took the loss in his second career start. Steven Lacy earned his first save of the year, striking out four of the six batters he faced.

The Dock Spiders are back at Herr-Baker Field on Sunday afternoon against the Lakeshore Chinooks (1-5) at 1:05 p.m.

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.