Woodchucks Drop Game One of Pivotal Series
FOND DU LAC, Wis – The Fond du Lac Dock Spiders (31-27) scored runs in six of eight innings to defeat the Wausau Woodchucks (29-29) by a score of 11-3 at Herr-Baker Field Saturday night.
For a second straight game, the Woodchucks were unable to take advantage of an early lead.
Chase Hug (Evansville) hit his seventh homer of the season in the top of the first, plating Zach Kluvers (North Dakota State) who had led off with a walk.
The Woodchucks loaded the bases in the top of the second but failed to come up with a clutch base-knock to extend their lead. The Dock Spiders re-grouped and scored the game’s next five runs.
Starter Nate Madej (Florida Southern) struck out six but issued six costly walks over four innings of four-run ball. The Dock Spiders tied the game in the third inning and took the lead during an eventful bottom of the fourth.
With the bases loaded, a sacrifice fly brought Daylen Reyes (UCLA) to the plate. He slid into Woodchucks catcher Camden Janik (Illinois), who was knocked over and confronted Reyes when he stood up. Both benches cleared, and cooler heads prevailed. Reyes went on to record a 4-for-4 performance at the plate, scoring three Dock Spider runs.
The Dock Spiders entered the sixth with a 5-2 lead, but the Woodchucks finally answered. JC Ng (Pomona-Pitzer) provided one of his three hits in his debut game, scoring Garret Hill (North Dakota State) from second base.
But in the bottom of the inning, Fond du Lac scored three runs off Woodchuck reliever Aidan Corn (Pasco-Hernando State College). They added three more in the bottom of the eighth against Tyler Denu (Evansville) to pad their lead to 11-3. Denu tallied four strikeouts over two innings.
With the win, Fond du Lac holds onto second place in the overall Great Lakes West Division Standings. They are two games ahead of both the Woodchucks and Lakeshore Chinooks. If the Rafters (4 game lead in the second half) win both halves, the team that finishes second overall claims a playoff spot.
Complete statistics: https://scorebook.northwoodsleague.com/standalone/game/2792/stats
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Author: David Keech
David Keech is a retired teacher and works as a sportswriter, sports official and as an educational consultant. He has reported on amateur sports since 2011, known as 'KeechDaVoice.' David can be reached at [email protected]
