(June 16, 2021 – Carrollton, TX) Offense was in “full swing” Wednesday night as the Spirits (40+) obliterated any attempt by the Brewers to put together a baseball game. The teams faced off at McInnish Park on Field #11 and it seemed to be over before the first inning was completed.
Duane Aponte earned a no-hitter Wednesday night as the Spirits crushed the Brewers, 16 to 1. Aponte struck out 4 and added a pair of hits and an RBI on the night as well.
The Brewers defense could only watch as their pitching struggled mightily and the Spirits took advantage in every aspect. Eric McPherson and Kirk Sipila led the way offensively, each finishing with 3 hits on the night. Sipila added a pair of doubles that were scored down the line each time as he went on to score 3 times and added an RBI and a walk to his perfect, 3-for-3 evening. McPherson scored once and added an RBI and Aaron Wilson also added a 2-hit night while scoring 3 times. Duane Aponte was the storyline however, finishing 2-of-3 with an RBI, and if that wasn’t bad enough to go up against, the Brewers also had to fend off against Aponte’s no-hitter. Aponte went 5 innings in a shortened game due to the league’s mercy rule but left no mercy as the only base runners to reach were allowed to do so due to Spirits fielding errors. Aponte also finished the night with 4 strikeouts.
The Spirits added 8 runs in the first inning after McPherson singled and Sipila doubled him home. Shawn Lee flew out and a single by Wilson put runners on the corners. Wilson stole second and a triple to the wall by Eric Goetz scored both runners. Earl German didn’t reach base safely, but ended the game with 3 runs batted in starting with a sacrifice fly to score Goetz. David Tipton walked and stole both second and third before scoring on a passed ball. Shawn Hunt then tripled and scored minutes later on a wild pitch and a double by Will Nash kept the inning going. Nash was able to move to third after Brewers pitcher, Rusty Thompson threw the ball away in a pickoff attempt at first. Nash then scored on an error by the Brewers center fielder that allowed Stacy Scott to reach safely. Scott moved to second after Brant Finchum drew a walk and the Brewers turned to Rudy Theobald to stop the bleeding. Aponte welcomed Theobald with a single to score Scott before McPherson and the top of the Spirits order returned and was retired with a ground ball.
The Spirits added 5 more runs in the second after Siplia doubled for the second time and then scored on an RBI single by Lee. Wilson singled to move Lee to second and a walk to Goetz loaded the bags for German. German grounded out, but scored Lee on the play and with both runners advancing over, Tipton singled to score Wilson. Hunt drew a base-on-balls and another walk to Nash allowed Goetz to score. Scott reached on a fielder’s choice that squeezed Nash at second, but Tipton scored to make it 13 to 0, Spirits.
In the third, the Brewers finally were able to get a base runner on a Spirits fielding error and two players later, the Spirits muffled another grounder that allowed the Brewers to pick up their only run of the ball game.
The Spirits added another pair of runs in the third inning after McPherson singled and moved to second when Sipila drew a walk. Lee went down on strikes and Wilson reached on a fielder’s choice that put McPherson out at third, but three straight walks to Goetz, German, and Tipton allowed both Sipila and Wilson to score before Hunt flew out to end the inning.
The ghosts added another run in the fourth after Brant Finchum led off with a two-out double and Aponte, McPherson, and Sipila followed with 3 straight singles. Lee flew out to end the inning and Aponte set the Brewers in order in the top of the fifth to end it due to the league’s mercy rule.
“Outstanding effort by (Duane) Aponte tonight,” mentioned Lee after the game. “He was on point and we splotched up his box score by kicking it around some. Regardless of our bad gloves, he was still solid tonight. Great hitting by (Kirk) Sipila per usual. Our guys hit the ball and hit it well. Not much you can do with that combination of hitting and pitching. Each win is temporary. We’ll line it up again next Wednesday and start over.”
The Spirits take on these same Brewers next Wednesday night starting at 8:45PM on Arlington Field at Texas Star. Click here for schedule details.
Core Physical Medicine Players of the Game
Duane Aponte (2-3, RBI; 5 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K)
Kirk Sipila (3-3, 2 2B, 3 R, RBI, BB)
Eric McPherson (3-4, R, RBI)