FOND DU LAC, WI – The Fond du Lac Dock Spiders (25-22, 6-7) start their longest home stand of the year with a two-game set against the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters (39-9, 10-3) at 6:35 p.m. at Herr-Baker Field. Tonight’s game is Medical Professionals Night and a shoelaces giveaway from 99.5 WPKR. The Fond du Lac community will offer a giant ‘Thank You’ to area medical professionals with a $1 ticket special, and the first 500 fans will receive a pair of Dock Spiders shoelaces courtesy of 99.5 WPKR. Coverage of tonight’s game begins at 6:30 on ESPN+.
TODAY’S STORYLINES
MAKING THE PICK: The 2022 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, held from July 17-19, saw eight former and current Dock Spiders selected, tied with 2019 for the most in a single draft in franchise history. INF Chandler Simpson (2021) became the highest drafted Dock Spider in team history when the Tampa Bay Rays selected him in the second round with the 70th overall pick. INF Ryan Ritter (2020), OF Victor Scott (2020-21), RHP Derek Diamond (2020), and 1B Tim Elko (2019-20) were all selected. Two current Dock Spiders, INF Jackson Loftin and C Tommy Stevenson, were picked. This season, Loftin stole 13 bases in 13 games, and Stevenson tallied a .403 OBP in 17 games with the Dock Spiders.
ALL OF THE LIGHTS: On Tuesday night, 1B Grant Hussey and OF Nick Mitchell represented the Great Lakes Division at the 2022 Northwoods League All-Star game in Wisconsin Rapids. Hussey started at DH for the division and batted fourth, and Mitchell came in as a defensive replacement in the sixth inning. Both tallied two at-bats on the night. The Great Plains Division won the game 4-2 over the Great Lakes. Hussey and Mitchell became the 10th and 11th Dock Spiders to represent the franchise at the NWL All-Star Game.
THE FINAL STRETCH: Today marks the start of a stretch that will see the Dock Spiders play 24 games over the next 24 days to conclude the 2022 regular season. Starting today, the Dock Spiders will play their next five games at home, tied for their longest home stand of the season. 22 of the final 24 games of the year will be against Great Lakes East Division opponents.
He’s ON THE TOP: With Wisconsin Rapids Rafters SS Ben Ross selected in the fifth round by the Minnesota Twins, Dock Spiders OF Nick Mitchell now has the highest average out of all active players in the Great Lakes Division. Mitchell has recorded the longest on-base streak of any Dock Spiders player this year at 21 consecutive games. At Battle Creek this past weekend, Mitchell tallied seven RBI and went 6-12 at the plate.
HIT IT HARD, HIT IT FAR: Entering today, both 1B Grant Hussey and OF Andrew Sojka have each hit three home runs against the Rafters this year. Sojka tallied the ninth multi-home run game in Dock Spiders history against the Rafters on July 11. Hussey has recorded all three of his home runs in the first inning with two outs against the Rafters. The three home runs from Hussey and Sojka mark the most against a single team this year. This season, the Dock Spiders have hit nine of their 22 total home runs this year against the Rafters.
TODAY’S STARTING PITCHING MATCH-UP
RHP TREY SEELEY (FDL) will make his second start of the year after he closed out Sunday’s game at Battle Creek in an 11-inning 4-3 Dock Spiders win. Seeley made his only start of the summer at Lakeshore on July 14, throwing a season-high 47 pitches.
RHP MICHAEL LINDSEY (WIR) is set to make his eighth start of the year. Lindsey has thrown at least five innings in only one start (May 31 @ GB). Today marks his first start against the Dock Spiders since June 22 (3.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 4 K).
