(February 28, 2026 – Carrollton, TX) Despite giving up and early start and then tying the contest in the bottom half of the first inning, the Spirits (50+) squad broke a 2 to 2 tie in the second with two runs to take a 4 to 2 advantage but quickly watched the game disappear into a 4 to 4 tie and an eventual 6 to 4 loss following lackluster play on both sides of the diamond.
Tied at 2 to 2 in the second, Steven Nutt reached on a Laguneros error and went on to steal second base before Vince Parello drew a base-on-balls. Stacy Scott then tripled hom both runners but Ben Northcutt lost a battle of strikes and Earl German grounded out to end the inning and left Scott stranded.
The Laguneros picked up a run in the top half of the third and then tied the game in the fourth following a Spirits fielding error that allowed a runner to move into scoring position before eventually scoring.
Another pair of fielding errors led to 2 more runs in the top half of the sixth and that was all she wrote for the ghosts as failed opportunity and poor base running led to a fat egg for the remainder of the game.
“Pretty uninspiring baseball today,” Shawn Lee mentioned after the game. “Didn’t seem like a handful of folks were terribly interested in playing today. I have a knack for getting a little to concerned but today was definitely one of those days worth being concerned. We just played stupid. I think we’ve gotten used to figuring it out before the game is over but today was not one of those games. We took them down last year to win in the playoffs and it was obvious that today was their Super Bowl against us. If we’re not going to match an opponent’s will to win, well, what are we doing out here?”
Kirk Sipila and Mike Sopocy each finished with a pair of hits with Sipila adding a double. Sopocy also went the distance, allowing 3 earned off 10 hits while walking a pair and striking out 4.
The team returns to action next Saturday when they’ll host Metroflex starting at 11:45AM on Field #10 at McInnish Park. Fans can click here for schedule details.
Ranger Fire, Inc. Players of the Game
Kirk Sipila (2-3, 2B, R)
Mike Sopocy (2-3, RBI; 7 IP, 10 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 K)
Stacy Scott (1-3, 3B, 2 RBI)