(March 29, 2025 – Carrollton, TX) A 4-run second and third inning helped carry the Spirits (50+) squad past the Yankees on Saturday morning as the ghosts cruised to a 9 to 1 victory behind two hits by both Kirk Sipila and Kent Fischer. Mike Sopocy picked up the win, allowing no earned runs against 5 scattered hits while walking just one, and striking out a pair.
In another game that featured 16 hitters in the lineup, the Spirits were able to come up with 13 hits on the day, adding 5 walks and a lone extra base hit in the form of a double by Eric McPherson, who also added a run scored and a run batted in.
Down 1 to 0 in the bottom half of the second, the Spirits offense kicked in a bit after Fischer led off with a single. Fischer stole second base and Brian Hackney replaced him at first after drawing a walk. An RBI single by Sopocy scored Fischer, and Todd Murrah later reached on a fielder’s choice that put out Hackney at third base. Back to back singles by Earl German and Shawn Hunt allowed Sopocy to score, a walk to Stacy Scott allowed Murrah to cross the plate. Kevin Simmons later drew a walk to make it 4 to 1, Spirits before Vince Parello and Eric Reifschneider lost battles on strikes to end the inning.
The Spirits offense repeated the 4-running inning in the third after James Hardt reached on an error and then moved to second after Chris Allen drew a base on balls. McPherson’s double scored Hardt and a single by Sipila ended with Allen being tagged out at the dish. Shawn Lee reached on an error that allowed McPherson tos core and an RBI single by Fischer scored Sipila. Hackney followed with an RBI single to score Lee to make it 8 to 1 before the Yankees were able to get out of the inning.
Parello scored on an RBI single by Reifschneider in the fifth to give the Spirits a 9 to 1 lead that they would hang onto. Simmons came into close the final two frames for the ghosts, allowing no hits, no runs, no walks, while striking out a pair.
The team returns to action next Saturday when they visit the Cubs at McInnish Park, Field #11. First pitch is scheduled for 11:45AM and fans can click here for schedule details.
Five Star Ford Players of the Game
Kirk Sipila (2-3, R)
Kent Fischer (2-3, R, RBI)
Mike Sopocy (1-1, R, RBI, BB; 5 IP, 0 ER, 5 H, BB, 2 K)