Dock Spiders Hold Off Loggers on Sunday

The
Dock Spiders (6-5) swept their two-game home series against the Loggers (5-7)
after winning a close game on Sunday, 9-7.

 

Fond du Lac would open the scoring in
the second inning for the second straight game, which started with a leadoff
single from John
Rhodes (University of Kentucky) that made
it six consecutive at-bats that he reached base. Tim
Elko (University of Mississippi) then
dropped a softly-hit fly ball into right field to reach first. With runners on
first and second with nobody out, Jack
Alexander (Austin Peay) bunted a pop fly
to the left of the mound, which was fielded by Loggers pitcher Lucas
Braun (University of San Diego), but his three
to first sailed wide and allowed Rhodes to score to give the Dock Spiders the
1-0 lead.

 

Ryan Ritter (University
of Kentucky) added his fourth RBI in the last two
games with a sacrifice fly to right field that brought in Elko to make it 2-0
Fond du Lac.

 

Sam Novitske (University
of Oregon) came up next and lined a single into left field to put runners
on first and third for the Dock Spiders. Fondy would continue their small ball
strategy, as Tate Kolwyck (Vanderbilt
University) dropped a bunt to the mound to try and move
Novitske up, but Braun again had trouble fielding the ball and couldn’t come up
with the play as Alexander scored to give the home team a 3-0 lead.

 

Three batters later, Andrew Bullock (Charleston
Southern University) slapped a base hit into center field
that scored Novitske and Kolywck that made it a 5-0 Dock Spiders lead. Fond du
Lac would bat through their order and record five hits in the inning.

 

Three more runs came in for
Fondy in the bottom of the fifth, as Ritter continued his hot streak at the
plate with a double into right field that scored Brayden Frazier (University
of Iowa) from second. Drew Stahl (University
of Minnesota) made it back-to-back RBI hits with a
grounder up the middle to bring in Alexander. One more run came across in the
fifth after Kolwyck grounded out to short that allowed Ritter to come in and
make it 8-0 Dock Spiders.

 

Fond
du Lac would plate their ninth run of the game following an RBI-single from
Rhodes in the bottom of the sixth, his second hit of the day, and his third RBI
in his last two games.

 

The Loggers would stay
scoreless up into the seventh inning before Jason Hodges (University
of Arkansas) lined a base hit to center that scored their
first run of the game. La Crosse would load the bases, followed by a two-RBI
single from Kobe Kato (University
of Arizona) that made it 9-3.

 

Things got dicey in the ninth
inning, as four consecutive Loggers hitters would reach base to start the
inning. One run would score on a wild pitch, followed by a fielder’s choice
groundout from JT Thompson (Texas
State University) that allowed another run to score and
bring the Loggers to within four. Austin Murr (North
Carolina State University) lined to right field that
scored another run and made it a three-run deficit. The Dock Spiders nearly
ended the game one batter lead but instead saw their lead shrink to two after a
throw from Ritter to first sailed over the head of Bullock and allowed one more
run to cross home plate and keep the Loggers alive. A jam-shot popout to Ritter
finally ended the game and gave the Dock Spiders the nailbiting 9-7 victory.

 

Ryan Bergert (West
Virginia University) had a phenomenal third
appearance this season, allowing only two hits in six shutout innings to earn
the win. Bergert struck out four batters to bring his season total to 12. Trace Hoffman (University
of Iowa) pitched in one and one-third innings and only
gave up one hit. Nate Thomas (Northern
Illinois University) came in for the ninth and registered
the save, his first of the season.

 

The
Dock Spiders will be on the road on Monday night as they look to make it three
games in a row against the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters. First pitch for Monday’s
game is scheduled for 6:35 pm.