Green Bay survives late comeback to open season 1-0.
Fond du Lac, Wis.- The Green Bay Rockers won the first game of the Northwoods League season, taking down the Fond du Lac Dock Spiders 12-10 in 11 innings Monday afternoon at Herr Baker Field, starting their season with a 1-0 record.
Green Bay wasted no time scoring the first run of the Northwoods League season. After Rockers center fielder Max Mims (Southwestern) worked a walk and right fielder Cuyler Zukowski (Creighton) was hit by a pitch, left fielder Parker Coley (LSU-Eunice) hit an RBI-infield single making the score 1-0, scoring Mims from third base.
Starting the game for Green Bay was Chris Naronis (Queens). He allowed a single and hit-by-pitch in the first frame, but after picking off Dock Spiders center fielder Paul Wittmann (West Texas A&M) on first base and pitching two flyouts, he kept the frame scoreless.
Following a 1-2-3 second inning for both teams, the Rockers offense came alive in the third inning. After Mims singled to left and stole third base, Zukowski roped an RBI-double, making the score 2-0. Zukowski followed suit stealing a base of his own and eventually crossed home plate on a sac-fly by Parker Coley, extending the lead to 3-0.
The inning continued as catcher Carlos Hernandez (Anderson) and shortstop Andrew Harris (UW-Parkside) both reached base before second baseman Tommy Davis (Oklahoma-Wesleyan) lined a two RBI-triple to right field, growing the lead to 5-0. Davis would score a few pitches later when first baseman AJ Anzai (Chapman) singled on an error to right, making the ball game 6-0 through three innings.
Naronis finished his day on the mound with four innings pitched, throwing 58 pitches, striking out two batters, and allowing 0 earned runs even though Fond du Lac put a two-spot on the board late in the fourth inning, making the score 6-2.
The Rockers put another run across in the fifth inning when Anzai knocked in Hernandez on RBI-groundout growing the lead to 7-2.
Entering the game in relief for Naronis was pitcher Kevahn Ebron (California State-Monterey Bay). After loading the bases, he struck out two Fon du Lac batters and escaped the fifth inning with no damage.
The Rockers stayed hot at the plate in sixth inning. After Mims walked for the second time, Zukowski hit him home on an RBI-groundout to the shortstop, increasing the lead to 8-2. The middle of the Rockers order would load the bases before Davis picked up his third and fourth RBI of the day, singling to right field and increasing the score to 10-2.
Trey Mooney (Montevallo) relieved Ebron in the bottom of the sixth. Due to a single and a trio of walks, the Dock Spiders load the bases and scored a third run before Mooney was relieved by second-year Rocker Jacob Young (Fairmont State). After pitching a 1-2 count, Fon du Lac run scored two runs on back-to-back wild pitches from Young, shrinking the deficit to five runs. The Dock Spiders clawed back two more runs and the score was 10-7 after six innings.
Following a scoreless seventh inning, left-handed pitcher Jake Liberta (Hawaii-Hilo) replaced Young on the mound and retired the side in the eighth. He returned to the mound in the ninth inning where he loaded the bases and allowed a run before being relieved by Kyle Stoddard (Missouri Southern State). With two outs in the inning, Fon du Lac’s Wittmann tied up the ball game at 10-a-piece before Stoddardrecorded the final out, sending the game to extra innings.
With designated hitter Adam Paganelli (Northwest Nazarene) starting the inning on second base, third baseman Kyle West (Charleston) poked a ball to left field advancing Paganelli to third. The threat was ended when Dock Spiders shortstop Drew Barragan (Embry-Riddle Aeronautical) robbed Coley of a hit, ending the top-half of the frame. Stoddard kept Green Bay’s hopes alive after retiring the side in the tenth.
Hernandez started off the 11th inning reaching base after a dropped strike three. It was then the Parkside shortstop Harris who served as the hero, driving in Coley and Hernandez with a two-RBI triple to give the Rockers a 12-10 lead. Stoddard took the hill once more and struck out the side to seal the win with a 12-10 final score.
The Rockers will host Fond du Lac Tuesday night with first pitch set for 6:35 p.m. The pregame concert performed by Johnny Wad and will start at 5:35 p.m. on the newly-located Security Luebke Roofing Stage.
Capital Credit Union Park’s opening night game will also be the first-ever 2-for-1 Ticket Tuesday. If you are purchasing more than one ticket for the home opener, the price of your seat will be cut in-half.
Single game and group tickets are on sale now. Visit www.greenbayrockers.com or call the ticket office at 920-497-7225 to reserve your seats today. The Rockers front office and Team Apparel Fan Shop at Capital Credit Union Park are located at 2231 Holmgren Way in Ashwaubenon. Office hours are Monday-Friday 8:30am-5pm.
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The Green Bay Rockers 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 www.greenbayrockers.com or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play and set the Rockers as your favorite team.
