Fond du Lac, Wis. – The Rockers offense was firing on all cylinders tonight as it took down the Dock Spiders 16-11 on the road. Green Bay had a whopping four innings with three runs scored — it had just two scoreless frames.
The first of those three-run innings was the very first inning, with two coming on a home run from Payton Mansfield (Jacksonville State). The first baseman now has a pair of bombs on the summer.
The Rockers did quickly fall behind, though, as the Dock Spiders scored five runs in the bottom of the second inning. However, Green Bay responded with three runs apiece in the fourth and fifth frames.
Half of those came courtesy of Taylor Shultz (Georgia State). The infielder had, unquestionably, his best hitting game of the season. Shultz went 3-for-6 at the plate with a double, triple, and three RBI.
But even with Shultz’s standout performance, Green Bay’s offensive attack was far from imbalanced. Five different Rockers had two RBI on the game. One of those players was Cooper Kelly (Oral Roberts), who went 3-for-4 with his two RBI coming on a single in the top of the ninth inning.
Kelly’s base hit, coupled with a fielder’s choice from Luke Moeller (Grand Canyon) propelled Green Bay to its fourth, and final inning with three runs.
Apart from the five-spot the Dock Spiders put up in the bottom of the second, the Rockers never gave up more than two scores in a single frame.
A big reason why Green Bay managed to settle in on defense was the work of relievers — and returners from last year’s title team — Connor Nolen (Carroll) and Nainoa Cardinez (Hawaii). Nolen tossed just over two innings of relief and struck out three batters while only ceding two runs. Meanwhile, Cardinez lasted four innings on the bump, striking out five and allowing just one score.
Green Bay looks to carry its torrid offense from tonight to tomorrow’s tilt with the Royal Oak Leprechauns. That matchup is set for 3:05 p.m. at Capital Credit Union Park, and is the first meeting between Green Bay and the newest team in the Northwoods League.
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