(March 31, 2025 – Flower Mound, TX) The field was new and so were some of the faces on the opposing side of the diamond as the Spirits (45+) squad kicked off its season visiting the newly formed Reds; a hybrid of new faces and former players bringing back a squad to the North Texas Amateur Baseball League (NTABL).
The ghosts used a 5-run third inning to cap off a 7 to 1 victory as pitcher Jonathan Duran picked up the complete-game victory following 6 innings of work that featured just 7 scattered hits, one earned run and one walk. Duran also added an RBI and run scored to aid the cause but it was veteran and perennial All-Star, Kirk Sipila once again leading the way on offense. Sipila added a pair of hits including a run scored and an RBI to also help the Spirits offense. Kevin Simmons added a double to his two-hit evening, also scoring twice. Shawn Lee singled and walked twice and Mike Sopocy added a hit and a run batted in. Eric Goetz and David Tipton also each finished the night with singles, a run scored, an RBI and 2 stolen bags each. Shawn Hunt and Eric McPherson also brought home singles before the dust settled on game one.
Pitchers Steven Nutt and Ross Nussle combined for 6 strikeouts but also walked 6, allowing 5 earned in a valiant effort that just fell short offensively for the Reds.
In the top half of the third, Simmons led off with a double and later scored after Stacy Scott flew out and Goetz singled him home. Goetz was able to take second on the throw home and a walk to Tipton put two on with one out. Both runners advanced on a double-steal and after Duran was able to reach on an error, both runners were able to score to make it 3 to 0, Spirits. McPherson singled to move Duran to second, and an RBI single by Sipila scored Duran to make it 4 to 0. Sipila was able to move to second on the throw home and McPherson later scored on a passed ball. Travis Hitzeman drew a walk but Nussle was able to set down Hunt on strikes. Lee then drew a walk to load the bags but Nussle again found the poise to strike out Sopocy to get out the inning without any further damage.
Simmons later reached on a single in the fourth and scored on an RBI single by Tipton to give the Spirits a 6 to 0 lead before TK Hayes reached on a fielder’s choice in the bottom half of the inning and then later scored on a ground out by Todd Murrah to make it 6 to 1.
The Spirits added their final run in the fifth after Sipila led the inning off with a single and then later scored on an RBI single by Sopocy.
“Not a bad start for us,” Lee mentioned afterwards. “The game seemed much closer than the score but the outcome could have been different had we not left 10 runners on base. Offense isn’t completely clicking yet but we’ll get there. I’m sure the next match up will be much closer versus these guys.”
The Spirits return to action next Monday night when they travel to another new location. The ghosts visit the Hurricanes at Fortius Ballpark in McKinney for a late 9:00PM start and fans can click here for schedule detail or to listen live online using the iScore Central app.
Five Star Ford Players of the Game
Kevin Simmons (2-3, 2B, 2 R)
Kirk Sipila (2-3, R, RBI)
Eric Goetz (1-2, R, RBI, BB, 2 SB)
David Tipton (1-2, R, RBI, BB, 2 SB)