Dock Spiders Claim Victory in I-41 Showdown

FOND DU LAC, WI – David Hagaman (West Virginia) struck out a career-high eight batters and retired 15 of the 17 batters he faced to earn the win in a 7-1 Fond du Lac Dock Spiders victory over the Green Bay Rockers in the inaugural I-41 Showdown at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium in Appleton, Wisconsin.

Hagaman’s Mountaineer teammate, Grant Hussey, tied his career-high with four RBI, helping plate four of the seven Dock Spider runs.

The win sees the Dock Spiders improve to 8-2 on the year, a game behind the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters in the Great Lakes West Division. The loss breaks a two-game winning streak for the Rockers, as they fall to 3-7 on the year.

Four different Dock Spiders pitchers combined to limit the Rockers to a single run, including a perfect inning from Alex Vera (Illinois), two perfect innings from Tyler Tornberg (Rutgers) and a one-run ninth from David Craig (College of San Mateo) out of the bullpen.

At the plate, the Dock Spiders scored first for the sixth time on the year when Hussey drove in Nick Mitchell (Western Illinois) with a sacrifice fly to center-field in the first. The Dock Spiders would then plate two more runs in the fifth off a two-RBI double from Hussey.

In the seventh, the Dock Spiders would strike for three more runs, with a wild pitch, and RBI singles from Mitchell and Alejandro Macario (Nova Southeastern).

The Rockers tallied their lone run of the night in the ninth when an RBI groundout broke up the shutout with one out.

The Dock Spiders are on their road for their first true road trip of the year starting tomorrow, with a series at the Lakeshore Chinooks to kick off a three-day road trip. First pitch is set for 6:35 p.m. tomorrow night at Kapco Park with right-handed pitcher Josh Culliver (Minnesota) set to start for the Dock Spiders.