Spirits (45+) Take Home NTABL Masters Championship

(August 4, 2025 – Coppell, TX) After three years of disappointing endings, the Spirits (45+) squad finally ended the season with an exclamation point, claiming the NTABL Masters (45+) Division crown on Monday night after shutting out the league’s hottest team with a 9 to 0 win at Cowboy Field.

Spirits pitching accounted for a 3-hit shutout starting with starter, Jonathan Duran, who threw for 3 innings allowing 0 earned runs off of 2 hits while walking and striking out one. Mike Sopocy added 2 more innings of shutout baseball, allowing no runs on no hits while striking out one, and Vinny Diciero shut it down with no runs, no hits, a walk and a strikeout. The trio completely shut down a team that had turned its season from glitz to glory in a matter of weeks starting with a victory over the Spirits just a few weeks back and followed up with several key wins that included a playoff victory over a strong Reds team.

Offensively for the Spirits, Shawn Lee added a double on two hits while knocking in 4 runs in his return to the field after a nagging hamstring injury kept him sidelined. Kirk Sipila added 3 runs batted in of his own, finishing with a hit, run scored, and a stolen bag. Cliff Brade finished 2-for-2 with a pair of stolen bags, a walk, and 2 runs scored, and Shawn Hunt added a pair of hits as well.

Eric Reifschneider grounded out to start the game but Astolfo Parra singled to seamingly give the Hurricanes a good start. A few pitches later and before Duran was able to get Vince Parrello to ground out, Hunt was able to gun down Parra attempting to swipe second base and it turned out to be a 1-2-3 inning for the ghosts.

The Spirits offense then hit the board quickly after Eric McPherson led off with a single and moved to second on a wild pitch from Hurricanes starter, Michael Swann. McPherson was able to make his way to third following a passed ball that got by catcher, Ken Earp, and a few pitches later, Dee Mauldin drew a walk to put runners on the corners. Mauldin stole second base and a few pitches later, McPherson made it 1 to 0 after scoring on another passed ball scenario. Mauldin made his way to third and then scored after Sipila grounded out and the Spirits had a fast 2 to 0 lead before Travis Hitzeman flew out. Brade drew a walk and stole second base but Swann was able to get Lee swinging on a changeup to strike him out and end the inning.

The Hurricanes made a little noise again in the second after Raul Ponce drew a walk before Swann flew out. Ben Northcutt reached on an error to give the Hurricanes two on with one out but the Spirits defense was able to earn another out after Jim Crombie reached on a fielder’s choice after the Spirits tied turning two. Northcutt was forced at second and after Ponce moved to third, Duran was able to get Michael O’Hornett to ground out to get out of the inning.

The Spirits bats were quiet in the second despite a two-out single from Hunt but the Hurricanes offense also remained quiet in the top half of the third after Johnnie Sanchez reached on a one-out single and was then replaced by Brad Petty on a fielder’s choice before Duran struck out Reifschneider looking to end the frame.

The Spirits offense then opened up the game for good with a 5-run third inning that too strong for the Hurricanes to blow down. David Tipton was able to reach on an error and after Stacy Scott flew out, Tipton later advanced on a passed ball and then moved to third after McPherson reached on another defensive error. McPherson took second on another passed ball and Mauldin followed by making it three straight to load the bases in Little League fashion. Sipila made the miscues hurt with a hard single up the middle that allowed Tipton and McPherson to cross the dish, giving the Spirits a 4 to 0 lead. Hitzeman flew out but heads up running on the bags put both Mauldin and Sipila into scoring position after both players advanced on a double-steal. Mauldin then scored on another wild pitch before Brade singled to push Sipila to third. Lee followed with a 2-run single to the right side to score both Sipila and Brade and the Spirits had a 7 to 0 lead. Sopocy then followed with a single and both runners were able to advance on yet another wild pitch before Kevin Simmons flew out to stop the bleeding.

Sopocy replaced Duran in the fourth and set the Hurricanes in order and despite loading the bags in the bottom of the fourth, the Hurricanes were able to get out of the inning after Swann was able to get Diciero to ground out.

The fifth inning passed quietly for both teams before the Hurricanes again knocked on the door of opportunity. Diciero replaced Sopocy in the top half of the sixth and after getting Jamie Byers and Sanchez to ground out, Petty reached on a Spirits fielding error before Reifschneider followed with a single. The hit moved Petty to third and after Reifschneider stole second, Parra drew a walk to load the bases. Diciero was able to regroup, however, dialing in to strike out Parello on 3 straight heaters to get the Spirits out of the inning.

The final inning was cut short due to the league’s 2-hour time limit as Hitzeman reached after being hit by a pitch and Brade followed with a single. Lee put the final exclamation point on the game with a hard double to the left centerfield gap to score both runners before time was called to end the game.

Dallas Spirits Baseball Club – 2025 NTABL Masters (45+) Champions

“It feels good to be back on top,” Lee pointed out after the game. “Our pitchers were great tonight, leaving it on the field, and we weren’t spectacular on offense but we took advantage of any mistakes they made. They made a really nice run at the turn of the season, so hats off to them for making the season fun. They gave us our only loss which tells you that the league has parody. Records can be deceiving and in this case, they were. Proud of the guys for getting us back at the top of the mountain. It’s been a minute, but it feels good to be back. Shout out to some great pitching by Duran, Sopocy and Vinny (Diciero). Hunt’s work behind the dish goes unseen. He’s the best catcher in the league. And Sipila always come through clutch on offense. We missed Dale Baird tonight, but he needs a shoutout for helping us get here as well; offensive machine. McPherson has been a force as well. He’s a great hitter and I know he had a pile of stolen bags and runs scored. If he’s on, he scores. We’ll enjoy this for a couple of weeks and get ready for some fall baseball!”

The Spirits finish the season with an 15-1-1 record.

Game Box Score