(May 20, 2024 – Flower Mound, TX) An opponent with the name Hurricanes is fitting for a season that has simply been nother other than under water. Rains have plagued the NTABL Masters Division all season, with this contest being just the second of the year for both teams as the Spirits (45+) squad visited the Hurricanes Baseball Club at Marcus High School. Taking on a new location was fun for all partaking but even more fun for the Spirits offense, who took off to a fast start.
The ghosts picked up a quick 3 run lead in the top half of the first inning after Eric McPherson was awarded first after being beaned by Hurricanes starter, Ben Northcutt. McPherson took second on a wild pitch and moved to third after Kirk Sipila followed up with a single. Travis Hitzeman flew out and Kent Fischer followed with an RBI single that scored McPherson and moved Sipila to third. Sipila scored on an error by Northcutt following a failed pickoff attempt at first that allowed Fischer to reach third. Shawn Lee flew out and Fischer later scored on a passed ball before Will Nash singled and Shawn Hunt grounded out to end the top half of the inning.
The game remained quiet for several innings with a few Spirits reaching base and a couple of Hurricanes batters reaching base on Spirits fielding errors before the Spirits offense opened the game up. After Hunt and Mike Sopocy both flew out, the Spirits rallied for 7 runs starting with Ryan Marsland drawing a two-out walk. Brian Hackney moved him to third on a single to right center field, and another walk to Earl German loaded the bases. A double by Stacy Scott scored both Marsland and Hackney, and three pitches later, German scored following one that went to the backstop. One pitch later, Scott repeated the free trip home following another bouncer to the backstop before David Tipton reached on a single. McPherson was then hit by a pitch a second time, in the same exact spot and laughter was slowing turning into angst and concern. Sipila followed with an RBI single good to score Tipton and Hitzeman also singled to score McPherson. A balk by Northcutt allowed Sipila home to make it 10 to 0, Spirits before Fischer flew out to close out the Spirits half of the inning.
Marsland, who picked up the win as the Spirits starting pitcher, closed out the fifth inning with his sixth strikeout of the game while also walking a pair. He was able to get out of the inning unscathed and called it a night despite having a no-hitter in place through five innings of play.
“We really wanted Ryan to go back out there, but he’s more of a competitor than someone looking for something flashy,” Lee mentioned later. “His arm was tired and rather than worrying about cosmetics, he chose to give the ball to another pitcher so he could remain healthy and we could just look to winning the game. Love that about him.”
The Spirits added their eleventh and final run in the top half of the sixth after Lee reached base after wearing a pitch from Cameron Newell, who had replaced Northcutt to start the inning. Lee took second on a wild pitch and Nash drew a walk before Hunt lost a battle of strikes to record the first out. Sopocy also walked to load the bases and Lee eventually scored on another wild pitch. Marsland then walked to again load the bags but Newell was able to get both Hackney and German to fly out to spare the Hurricanes a bigger debt as the game moved into its final frame due to the leagues two-hour time limit.
Sopocy relieved Marsland and after getting Jeff Carr to ground out, gave up the first hit on the night from Spirits pitching as Terry Helm slapped a medium line drive to center field. Sopocy struck out Vince Parello before Raul Ponce singled, giving Helm a head start on scoring following an error by Tipton in center field. Sopocy was then able to get Northcutt to fly out to end the game.
Sipila led the Spirits with a pair of hits, 2 runs scored, and a run batted in. McPherson reached twice, being hit by pitches both times while also allowing him to score twice. Scott added a double, scored and knocked in two runs, while Tipton finished 2-for-2 on the night while scoring once. Marsland walked twice and scored once while earning the win with 5 innings of no-hit baseball.
The Spirits are eventually set to return to action as they play host to the Knights following another pair of weeks off due to rain at the time this story was written. Game time is 8:45PM at Cowboy Field in Coppell, and fans can click here for schedule details.
Central Roofing and Restoration Players of the Game
Ryan Marsland (0-1, 2 BB, R; 5 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 2 BB, 6 K)
Kirk Sipila (2-3, 2 R, RBI)
Stacy Scott (1-2, 2B, R, 2 RBI)