Eight Game Skid Snapped with 9-3 Fond du Lac Victory
Tim Hackett, Broadcasting Intern
Fond du Lac, Wis.- The Fond du Lac Dock Spiders hadn’t won a game since June 3, an 8-1 win over the Wisconsin Woodchucks. The next day the Woodchucks won 13-10 to start an eight-game losing streak for the Dock Spiders, but that streak came to an end Tuesday night, as Fond du Lac (4-10) defeated Wisconsin (5-10) 9-3, sending the Woodchucks to their third straight loss.
The Chucks started the game on the right foot when Milton Rivera led off the first inning with a single, scoring on a single by Brylie Ware. Fond du Lac responded immediately with three runs in the first, anchored by a pair of RBI singles, and two more in the second on a two-run triple by Orynn Veillon.
Woodchucks starter Korey Rasure, in his season debut, settled in in the third and fourth, but Fond du Lac struck again in the fifth on RBI hits from Collin Braithwaite and Nick Fortes to make it 7-1.
The Chucks got it close in the sixth. Tristan Clarke walked and scored on an error and Stevie Mangrum reached and scored on a Chad Fleischman double to make it 7-3, but they would get no closer. Fond du Lac added two more in the bottom half on a two RBI double by Andrew Bullock to cap off its scoring at 9-3.
Andreas Papageorge pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth for the Woodchucks, but they couldn’t crack Fond du Lac reliever Colton Neel, who pitched 2.1 innings of three-hit ball with two strikeouts. Ryan Connolly pitched 5.2 innings for the Dock Spiders, allowing three runs, two earned, on four hits with four walks and six strikeouts. His record improves to 1-0, while Rasure’s falls to 0-1.
These two teams will duke it out again Wednesday night at 6:35 PM, this time in central Wisconsin. Eli Baez will make his third start of the year for Wisconsin as the Chucks look to snap their losing streak back home at Athletic Park.
Tickets are on sale to all Wisconsin Woodchucks home games and the 2017 Northwoods League Home Run Derby and All-Star Game, presented by Ascension. Tickets can be purchased online, by calling 715.845.5055 or by stopping by the Woodchucks front office during normal business hours.