(July 11, 2019 – Carrollton, TX) The continued theme of errors remains ever present when it comes to Spirits (35+) baseball and Thursday night it once again proved to be the deciding factor as the ghosts handed over a victory to the Dodgers by a score of 5 to 4 at McInnish Park in NTABL Veterans League action. The loss drops the team’s record to 3-6-1, a far cry from past seasons, including a season that won 3 league championships out of a possible 5.
The Dodgers started off with a quick lead after Eric Landsberger led the game off with a single and then stole second after Dee Mauldin flew out. Lance Broadway followed with a single to score Landsberger and Broadway advanced to third after Spirits right fielder, Grant Martin ran past the ball. A single by Cameron Mcguire scored Broadway and the Dodgers led, 2 to 0.
The Spirits tied the game in the bottom of the second after Craig Molldrem, who returned for the first time since off-season Tommy-John surgery drew a base-on-balls. Brant Finchum also drew a walk after Bobby Kornhauser went down swinging. Jonathan Duran also went down on strikes, but a wild pitch advanced both runners and Martin drew a walk to load the bases. An RBI single by John Hefner scored Molldrem and another walk to Cliff Brade tied the game before Eric McPherson flew out with bases loaded.
The Spirits picked up the lead in the third inning after Jason Bottenfield doubled and later scored when Patrick Bilgere reached on a Dodgers fielding error. The Dodgers tied the game at 3 to 3 in the fourth following three singles, but the Spirits regained the lead in the bottom half of the inning when Hefner reached after being beaned with one out. A single by Brade pushed Hefner to third and he later scored on a sacrifice fly from McPherson.
The Dodgers regained the lead after Broadway singled in the fifth and scored on a double by Nick Bird. An error by Hefner in left allowed Bird to score on what should have been a routine single, but the ball rolled between Hefner’s legs and to the wall and the Dodgers were able to hold the lead for the remainder of the contest.
The squad returns to action next Thursday night when they host the Knights at Graham Field. Click here for schedule details.
Core Physical Medicine Players of the Game
Jason Bottenfield (2-3, 2B, R, SB)
Brant Finchum (1-1, R, 2 BB)
Craig Molldrem (1-1, R, HBP)