(October 16, 2016 – Dallas, TX) “Get up, get outta here, gone…” would have been the remarks of Bob Uecker had he been calling the game against the DFW Hurricanes on Sunday afternoon. The Spirits Fall team used the long ball alongside another shutout by pitcher Craig Molldrem as they blanked the Hurricanes by a margin of 12 to 0 at Jesuit College Preparatory in Dallas.
Spirits hitters jumped on Hurricanes veteran pitcher, Bob Delahunt for 17 total hits including doubles by Jonathan Duran, Patrick Bilgere, Keith Wallace, Matt Topps, and Jack Nash. Kyle Redinger homered to left, as did Wallace, and Molldrem took one deep as well, sending his ball over the protective netting in left-center field and just left of the scoreboard. The shot was past the 330 mark and a good 25 feet plus above the wall so it can only be estimated that Craig was looking at between a 380 and 400 foot homerun.
“It was a shot!” noted interim manager Jonathan Duran. “There was no doubt on that one. The guys played solid and the offense was great. We seem to really enjoy padding the stats when Shawn is away.” Duran seemed to enjoy making light of his team’s opportunities at the plate while regular team skipper, Shawn Lee was away and had missed the team’s contest.
Redinger finished the game with a 3 for 3 performance, which included 2 runs scored, and 2 RBI. Brant Finchum hit safely twice adding a run, as did Topps who also finished with a run scored and an RBI. Cliff Brade hit 3 for 3 including 2 RBI, and Wallace added 2 runs, and 3 RBI to his stat line as well. Molldrem finished 1 for 2 with a walk, run scored, and 2 RBI.
The Spirits offense scored in each inning of play before the game was abbreviated after six innings due to the league’s 2-hour time limit. The Spirits managed 2 in the first, 4 in the second, a single run in both the 3rd and 4th innings, and finished with 4 more runs in the 5th inning before Molldrem shut down the game in the 6th. Molldrem finished with a 1-hit shutout and 8 strikeouts.
The team returns to action Tuesday night at Reverchon Park in Uptown. They’ll host second place Braves with the first pitch at 6:30 PM. The Spirits beat the Braves 4 to 0 in the first meeting.
Waxahachie Autoplex Players of the Game
#1 Kyle Redinger (3-3, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 SB)
#34 Craig Molldrem (1-2, HR, R, 2 RBI, BB, 6 IP, 4 K)