(April 20, 2026 – Coppell, TX) The Reds made it a grinder in the bottom half of the sixth inning with a pair of runs but a “spirited” 6-run top half of the seventh took all signs of hope away as the Spirits (45+) squad rolled to an 11 to 4 victory at Cowboy Field on Monday night.
Mike Sopocy was fire – picking up the complete-game win after allowing just one earned run off of 6 scattered hits, while walking 3 and striking out 10.
“Mike was fantastic tonight,” Shawn Lee commented following the game. “They have some really good hitters on that team but his control and his placement were fantastic. He kept them off balance and honestly, struck out some really good guys in this division. Got to give credit when credit is due!”
Despite a long lineup of players in the batting order, the Spirits offense found a way to put a bunch of hits together late in the game starting with a pair of runs in the first and second innings, followed by a 3-run fourth. Up just 2 to 1, Travis Hitzeman started the inning with a single. Dale Baird flew out but Will Nash was able to reach on a Reds fielding error to put two on with just one out. Sopocy loaded the bags after reaching on another Reds fielding error, this time by right fielder Jhonattan Fuertes, and Hitzeman later scored on a wild pitch. After the two remaining runners moved over on the same wild pitch, Dee Mauldin made it hurt with a two-run single that scored both Nash and Sopocy.
The Reds added a run in the bottom frame to cut the score to 5 to 2 but then made the game interesting after grabbing a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth after Daniel Washington singled home Kelly Tomlinson. Washington later scored after Kevin Simmons made an errant throw from behind the plate and the game was now set at 5 to 4, Spirits.
“Felt like we might give another game away,” Lee continued. “For some reason we seem to have that small cloud that grows bigger and then it hits the fan. Fortunately, tonight the only thing getting hit was the baseball in the top of the seventh. Guys just got on fire and the momentum was all ours.”
Nash led off the seventh with a single before Sopocy and Mauldin flew out. It seemed grim at that moment and setup for the Reds to take the game in the bottom frame, however, Simmons crushed a double to the left centerfield gap and scored Nash for some immediate insurance. Vinny Diciero and Stacy Scott drew walks to keep the inning alive and a clutch single by Sean House, fresh off a return from not throwing a ball or swinging a bat in over 2 years, scored boht Simmons and Diciero.
“Dugout got lit up when House got that hit,” mentioned Lee. “Sean has been wanting to come back for a while now but Father Time has it in for us all. He didn’t care and chose to seize the moment with a great hit to the right side. The guys with the true skills never lose it. That hit was huge.”
Earl German followed with another RBI single with two out that scored Scott and the Spirits weren’t finished. Cliff Brade followed with a walk to load the bags and the Reds turned to Jonathan Jackson to pitch in hopes of slowing things down. Eric McPherson welcomed him to the game with a 2-RBI single that scored both House and German before Mauldin made a base running error while running for McPherson and was caught stealing before Sipila could add a bigger dent to the lead.
Sopocy added strikeouts 9 and 10 in the bottom of the seventh to seal the game and to add the exclamation point to the victory. The Spirits will return to action next Monday night when they visit the Red Sox at McInnish Park, Field #11 at 9:00PM. Fans can click here for schedule details.
Ranger Fire, Inc. Players of the Game
Kevin Simmons (2-2, 2B, R, RBI, BB)
Sean House (1-3, R, 3 RBI)
Mike Sopocy (7 IP, ER, 6 H, 3 BB, 10 K)