(May 11, 2026 – Coppell, TX) Another Knights experience is in the books. For some reason, the Knights either know where all the bodies are buried or they’ve cast a spell on the Spirits (45+) that appears will stick around for centuries to come.
One day, the Spirits will handle the Knights. Other days, the Knights will return the favor. And then there’s the collapse. You can expect about once per year that a chain of events throughout the game or the affectionately referred to, “Spirits inning” will show its ugly head. Monday was one of those exceptions. They say if you haven’t a clue on a test, choose the all of the above answer. That’s what the Spirits did.
Following a 5-run top of the first inning, it appeared the ghosts would be coasting their way to another victory. Not so fast. Spirits manager, Shawn Lee decided to go with Vinny Diciero to start following a fairly solid outing the previous week, but this week things didn’t go quite as planned. Cliff Brade led off the game with a walk and stole second before scoring on an RBI single by Eric McPherson. Dale Baird reached on an error and during a pick-off attempt, McPherson swiped home to make it 2 to 0. Baird stole second and then stole third before Kevin Simmons singled and a walk to Eric Goetz loaded the bags. A big hit to the wall by Will Nash scored all three runners and after Shawn Hunt was walked, the Spirits were poised to score more but Diciero flew out to end the frame.
The ghosts then took to the field where Diciero then struggled to get the ball over the plate. Chad McCune crushed a double on the first pitch he saw good for a double and the merry-go-round began. Diciero walked both Chauhtemoc Zubillaga and Rodger Battani before hitting Matt Lawley with a pitch to score McCune. Michael Miller also walked and scored Zubillaga before Scott McCain lined out to second base. Marc Hepburn then reached on a throwing error by Baird at short good to score both Battani and Lawley, and Miller later scored in another Spirits error when Kirk Sipila missed a throw from Earl German, who was forced to replace Diciero on the mound. German was able to strike out Sean Smith before Miller was called out on the base paths due to Smith interfering with Hunt at the plate.
“I joked with Rodger after we got off to the 5 to 0 start,” Lee mentioned later. “He was mad that they had a couple of miscues and felt like the sky was falling and I joked that we’d give them 4 or 5 runs back. I guess I’ll rethink putting that back in the universe next time. Unfortunately, we just can’t spot teams 3, 4 or 5 runs. And for some reason, more often than not with the Knights, that bit of doubt sets in. Nobody says anything but we start playing tight as hell and tonight it cost us.”
German drew a walk in the top of the second but was cut down after Stacy Scott grounded into a double-play. Brade kept the inning alive with a single and then stole second base before scoring on another RBI single by McPherson before Sipila lined out with the Spirits now up 6 to 5.
The Spirits made it 8 to 5 in the forth after Nash drew a walk and moved to second on a single by Hunt. Diciero and German both singled to score Nash before Scott grounded into another double-play that was good enough to score Hunt before Brade grounded out.
In the fifth inning, the Spirits went up 11 to 6 in what appeared to be a game-sealing inning after McPherson led off with a triple and scored in an RBI single by Sipila. Baird reached on a fielder’s choice that put out Sipila at second but a double to the wall by Simmons put two in scoring position. Goetz grounded out to the right side good enough to plate Baird and after an error by the Knights infield, Simmons was able to score before Nash flew out.
“At this point, I’m like, okay, Earl (German) is pitching well, we’ll get a couple of outs and we’re home free,” Lee continued. “And then doubt crept in and of course, then it hit the fan.”
After Miller grounded out and the time for the league’s two-hour game coming into play, McCain singled and it was followed by another single by Hepburn. A third straight single by Kubick loaded the bases and Lee decided to turn to Simmons to give them a new look. Simmons was on but so were the Knights. Smith welcomed Simmons to the game with a double that scored all three runners and the Knights dugout was wild. McCune added a single before Simmons walked Zubillaga and the bases were loaded again.
“I didn’t like the pitch choice for Zubillaga,” Lee added. “We need two outs, fairly good contact hitter up but mostly a ground ball guy. Biggest thing that hurts outside a big hit is a walk and we went changeup on that pitch and threw it outside. I would have rather seen them challenge him with a fastball down the middle and to give our defense a chance to do something. Easy to say that in retrospect but I didn’t love the call in real time.”
It seemed the Spirits may escape with a win after Battani hit a slow roller directly to Simmons who fielded and relayed home to Hunt but the ball bounced out of Hunt’s glove and everybody was safe. Another run. Another error, and now a one-run ballgame. Simmons squared up against Lawley and the Spirits defense could only hope for the best. Lawley it a single to right field and the Knights were charging for walk-off. McCune scored from third and Zubillaga was sent home. Goetz relayed the ball from right to a missing cutoff and Simmons fielded the roller and relayed to Hunt at the plate and in time to cut down Zubillaga by a step to get out number two with the game now tied, 11 to 11. Simmons was able to strike out Miller to end the game and earn consolation for not getting a loss as both teams quietly walked off the field with a tie now added to their team standings.
“Learned a lot tonight,” Lee finalized. “I’m going to do a few things different moving forward. Can’t win them all. I get it. And my guys all know I’m the biggest sore loser on the team. I own it. But that was more than a winnable game. Missing easy plays, not making plays when we need them. Seems we can hit but I’m going to get a little more stingy defensively. We have to stop letting things like this happen. We’re better than this.”
The team returns to action next Monday night when they host the North Dallas Expos. First pitch is slated for 8:45PM at Cowboy Field and fans can click here for details.
Ranger Fire, Inc. Players of the Game
Eric McPherson (3-3, 3B, 2 R, 2 RBI)
Kevin Simmons (2-3, 2B, 2 R)
Will Nash (1-2, 2B, R, 3 RBI)