Lucky 7s Lead Path to Route of Freebirds

(May 31, 2025 – Carrollton, TX) The Spirits (50+) squad avenged an earlier season loss to the Freebirds on Saturday, using lucky 7s to help carry them to a 24 to 1 mercy-ruled onslaught win. Spirits pitching gave up just 4 hits while an error on defense afforded the Freebirds only run.

Mike Sopocy gave up 3 hits while walking one and striking out 3, while Earl German added an inning of work coming off his last season elbow injury. German allowed just a hit and unearned run while Shawn Lee mopped up the final inning, allowing no hits but walked 2.

Chris Allen helped lead the offense with a 4-for-5 performance that featured a pair of runs scored and an RBI. Lee finished the game 3-for-4 with a triple, 3 runs scored, an RBI and a walk. German finished with 4 runs batted in and scored once with his 3-for-4 day, and Brian Kellner led all hitters with a 3-for-4 day that featured a pair of doubles, a walk, 3 runs batted in and 4 runs scored. Kent Fischer was also hot from the dish, adding a pair of doubles, 4 runs scored, 3 runs batted in, and a walk. Todd Murrah also knocked in 4 runs, finishing 1-for-3, with 2 runs scored and a walk.

Scoring was fast and often as the Spirits put up 7 runs in the top half of the first after Allen led off the game with a single. Lee’s triple to the left field wall scored Allen for a quick 1 to 0 lead and it was quickly 2 to 0 after Kellner singled home Lee. Fischer drew a walk and Sopocy followed with a single. Shawn Hunt singled home Kellner and Murrah’s ground out was good enough to score Fischer. German singled home both Sopocy and Hunt, and after being caught in a run down that tagged him out between second and third, Stacy Scott kept the inning going after being hit by a pitch. Scott swiped second base and then moved to third after Vince Parello reached on a dropped third strike. Scott later scored on a passed ball to make it 7 to 0 before Eric Reifschneider grounded out to end the cut to the Freebirds jugular.

After setting the Freebirds in order in the bottom frame, the Spirits added another 7-run inning to make it 14 to 0 after one and a half played. Allen again started with a single. Lee walked and both runners advanced on a passed ball before Kellner loaded them after drawing a walk. A double to the gap by Fischer scored both Allen and Lee before Sopocy flew out for out number one. Hunt was able to reach on an error that allowed Kellner to cross the plate, and after Murrah walked, German singled home Fischer. Scott followed with an RBI single tos core Hunt and after Parrello lost a battle of strikes, Reifschneider drew a walk to score Murrah. An RBI single by Allen scored German before Lee grounded out to stop the bleeding temporarily.

The ghosts added 2 more runs in the third after Kellner doubled to the wall and Fischer reached on an error. Sopocy grounded out but Hunt was again able to reach on an error that allowed Kellner to score. Murrah reached on a fielder’s choice to score Fischer before German reached on an error and Scott flew out to close off the Spirits half of the inning.

A 7-run fourth inning absolutely blew the game off its wheels when Parello led off with a single. Reifschneider flew out and Allen grounded out moving Parrello to second. Lee singled to put runners on the corners before another double by Kellner scored both runners. Fischer followed with a single and moved to second on a throw to third, and after Sopocy loaded them when he was hit by a pitch, Hunt picked up the easy RBI with a walk that scored Kellner. An RBI single by Murrah scored both Fischer and Sopocy before German doubled home Hunt. Scott reached on an error that allowed Murrah to cross the plate and the Spirits were up 23 to 0 before Parello lined out to end the frame.

Kevin Cunningham reached on a Spirits fielding error in the fourth and later scored after moving on both a wild pitch and passed ball followed by an RBI single by Ben Smiley. The Spirits added their 24th run in the fifth after Allen picked up his fourth single and later scored on an RBI single by Sopocy after Lee moved him to second with a single. Lee came in to mop up the final inning and was able to pick up a pair of ground outs before walking a pair of runners. He was eventually able to get Victor Gonzales to ground out to end the game due to the league’s mercy rule.

“Great job today by the offense,” Lee noted afterwards. “They kicked our tails earlier this season with a hitting clinic that we weren’t able to match. It was nice to get some revenge today but more importantly, we all clicked on offense. We’re a tough team to beat when we’re hitting. Nice work by everyone today. It felt good walking away and not stinking up the joint.”

The Spirits return to action next Saturday when they host the Laguneros at McInnish Park, Field #11 starting at 11:45AM. Fans can click here for schedule details or to download the iScore Central app to listen to the game live online.

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