The Dock Spiders found themselves down 4-1 heading into the bottom of the bottom of the fifth inning. A single from first basemen Seth Sweet-Chick (Nevada) and then another single from left fielder Travis Strickler (Embry Riddle Aeronautical) set the table for the Dock Spiders offense. Teddy Deters (Xavier) launched his second home run of the season over the left field wall which tied the game at 4-4 and swung all of the momentum towards the Dock Spiders. Second basemen Jacob Anderson (Michigan State) cranked an RBI double that scored the go ahead run and the Dock Spiders never looked back as they snapped their two-game losing skid with the 7-5 victory over the Rivets. The Dock Spiders received another stellar performance from left fielder Travis Strickler. Strickler went 2-3 from the dish. The timing of his hits were nearly perfect as they would come with runners on base with two outs. In the bottom of the sixth, the Dock Spiders scratched two more runs which padded their lead even more.
Deters pulled through in the clutch again as he punched an RBI single that scored Sweet-Chick. Then a sacrifice fly from catcher Lorenzo Rios (Presbyterian) scored centerfielder Connor Cooney (Holy Cross). The Dock Spiders would then turn to their bullpen as Tanner Smith (Presbyterian) was called upon. Smith hurled two innings of three hit ball and only surrendered one run, but he started to look himself again after struggling the last few weeks. Closer Zach Silfies (Elizabethtown) shut down the Rivets in the top of the ninth as he struck out designated hitter Andrew Delaney (Western Kentucky) to end the game. Dock Spiders starting pitcher Sebastian Guzman (Washington-St. Louis) was credited with the win after he dealt six innings while he surrendered 10 hits, four earned runs and one walk. Rivets starting pitcher Jack Bell (Western Illinois) was tagged with his first loss of the season. Dock Spiders closer Zach Silfies received his third save of the season.
The Dock Spiders improve to 16-27 on the season and 3-5 in the second half. The Dock Spiders will be back at home on Wednesday for a doubleheader against the Wausau Woodchucks. Both games will be bang for your buck day and night with 107.1 The Bull at Herr-Baker field. Come out and enjoy hot dogs, 16 oz Pepsi products, and 16 oz domestic beers (for those of drinking age) for $2 each. Tickets are currently available at dockspiders.com or by calling the ticket office at (920) 907-9833. First pitch for game one is scheduled for 11:35 A.M. Game two is scheduled for 6:35 P.M.
