Dock Spiders Fall Behind Early

FOND DU LAC, WI – The Lakeshore Chinooks used four runs in the first two innings to hold off the Fond du Lac Dock Spiders in an 8-5 Fond du Lac loss on Thursday night at Kapco Park.

The loss saw the Dock Spiders fall to 23-21 overall and 4-6 in the second half. The Chinooks leapfrogged the Dock Spiders in the Great Lakes West Division overall standings with the win, improving to 24-21 overall and 6-3 in the second half. The Chinooks now sit a half-game ahead of the Dock Spiders for second place in the overall standings, which will determine the final playoff spot if the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters win the second half division title.

The Chinooks got to Dock Spiders starter Trey Seeley (Cypress) early, scoring three in the first and one in the second to take an early 4-0 lead. All three runs in the first came off a bases-clearing double from Joey Spence (Notre Dame), and an RBI single from Michael Seegers (Iowa) in the second.

The Dock Spiders would strike back for three runs in the third to cut the deficit to one. Alberto Rios (Stanford) singled home two before Andrew Sojka (CSUN) extended his hit streak to six straight with an RBI single to bring home the final run of the inning.

In the fourth, the Chinooks would jump back on the board in three straight innings with an RBI single in the fourth, an RBI groundout in the fifth and a two-run home run from Stephen Hrustich (Northwestern) in the sixth to extend the lead to 8-4.

The Dock Spiders would fight back in the ninth with a little league home run from Tyeler Hawkins (Louisville), who scored after a throwing error brought him home from second immediately after a double.

All five Dock Spiders runs were unearned, but they tallied just the third run allowed by Chinooks reliever Mitch Mueller (Parkland CC) in his 11 appearances this year.

Seeley (0-1) took the loss in his first start of the summer while Jackson Reid (3-0, Lenoir-Rhyne) earned the win for Lakeshore.

The Dock Spiders and Chinooks will meet at Herr-Baker Field on Friday night with first pitch scheduled for 6:35 p.m.