(July 19, 2025 – Carrollton, TX) The Spirits (50+) squad walked away from Saturday’s DFW 50 League doubleheader with a mixed bag of results, thumping the Redbirds 15–6 in the first game before falling flat in a 10–0 shutout in game two at McInnish Park, Field #11.
Game One: Spirited Start Leads to Offensive Outburst
The Redbirds wasted little time jumping ahead in the opener. In the top of the first, Kevin Fought got things rolling with a double to left-center. Rich Beller followed with a sharp single to score Fought for an early 1–0 lead. Jerry Gamez kept the inning alive with another single, and although a fielder’s choice erased one runner, a passed ball brought Gamez home for a 2–0 advantage before the Spirits came to bat.
The Spirits clawed back in the bottom of the first, plating one to cut the lead in half after Chris Allen led off with a walk. Dee Mauldin flew out but Kirk Sipila singled to move Allen to second. An RBI single by Kent Fischer scored Allen and the Redbirds held a 2 to 1 advantage after one complete. The next two innings saw pitchers settle in, with Chris Cec working around defensive changes and a Redbirds miscue in the second, while the Spirits defense helped strand a runner in scoring position.
In the fourth, the Redbirds padded their lead. Gamez reached on an error to open the inning and took third on a single by Daron Wilkinson. After Phil Bosco grounded out to score Gamez, the Redbirds held a 3 to 1 cushion, but the Spirits answered back in a big way in their half of the inning.
They loaded the bases after Stacy Scott singled and Allen reached on an error. Mauldin singled home Scott and Sipila followed with a walk. Gamez replaced Cec on the hill and Fischer then reached on a fielder’s choice that squeezed Allen at the plate. An RBI single by Mike Sopocy scored Mauldin before Kevin Simmons flew out, but a walk to Todd Murrah pushed home Sipila and 2-run single from Earl German followed by and a 2-run triple by Shawn Hunt gave the Spirits a 5 run lead before Brian Hackney flew out to end the inning.
The Redbirds chipped away in the sixth inning after adding a run in the fifth with singles by Beller, Gamez, and Mark Tierney to load the bases. A fielder’s choice from Wilkinson scored Beller, and Bosco followed with a grounder that brought home Gamez on an error, pulling the Redbirds within two at 8 to 6.
Fortunately, the momentum didn’t last. The Spirits erupted for 7 more runs in the bottom half after Mauldin led things off with a single and then stole second base. Sipila followed with an RBI single to score him and a walk to Fischer gave the Spirits another base runner. Sopocy squeezed him at second to reach on a fielder’s choice before Sipila scored on an Redbirds throwing error. Simmons then doubled and a single by Murrah scored Sopocy. Murrah took second base a few pitches later and German followed up with a single to score Simmons. Hunt kept the inning rolling with an RBI single to score Murrah and Hackney followed suit with an RBI single of his own to score German. David Tipton capped off the 7 run inning with a single to score Hunt before Eric Reifschneider and Scott flew out.
The game was then called a final due to the league’s mercy time rule.
Game Two: Redbirds Rebound Strongly
The second game told a very different story. To new surprise, fresh Redbirds pitching silenced the Spirits’ bats, allowing just five hits and keeping any potential rallies from taking shape. Despite three singles from Sipila, Fischer, and Hunt, the Spirits struggled to push runs across and seemed to be fading in the Texas heat.
Meanwhile, the Redbirds broke the game open in the fourth inning, plating 6 runs with a string of hits, smart baserunning, and a few costly Spirits miscues. By the time the dust settled, the Redbirds had built an insurmountable lead, and tacked on 2 more in the fifth to end the game via run rule, 10 to 0.
“Great win in the first game,” mentioned injured manager, Shawn Lee. “When all things are equal, we can run with this team any day of the week. Don’t get me wrong, they’re a great team but so are we. But they have depth at pitching and what seems to be an endless lineup. It’s a well known tactic they’ll bring to a playoff structure built for them to win. We’ll have to overcome limited pitching and play flawlessly when we meet again in the playoffs. We look forward to the challenge.”
Five Star Ford Players of the Games
Kirk Sipila (3-4, 2 R, RBI, BB, SB)
Shawn Hunt (3-4, 3B, R, 3 RBI)
Earl German (2-4, 2 R, 3 RBI)
Todd Murrah (1-4, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB)