(April 10, 2024 – Euless, TX) The Spirits (40+) had chances to win or to slow down the Tigers, but in a battle of offense on Wednesday night, it was the Tigers who prevailed behind some clutch pitching and 7 combined strikeouts that proved too big of hill for the Spirits to climb.
Travis Hitzeman and Shawn Hunt led the Spirits offense, each finishing with a pair of hits on the night. Both hitters doubled on the night with Hitzeman adding a run scored and Hunt adding a run scored and 3 runs batted in. Stacy Scott finished 1-for-2 with a walk, run scored, and run batted in to highlight the Spirits box score.
The Tigers picked up a quick 3 to 0 lead in the first inning after Mark Lamkin walked to start the game and Randall Dick and Nick Bird each singled with Lamkin crossing the plate. Brian Kellner flew out and Scott Bergset grounded out, but Michael West singled home Dick and David Bass singled home Bird with two outs before Spirits stater, Jonathan Duran was able to get Dee Mauldin to ground out.
Cliff Brade drew a walk to start the Spirits half of the first, and after stealing second base, he later moved to third after Eric McPherson struck out and Hitzeman singled. Hitzeman swiped second before Shawn Lee struck out, but Mike Sopocy kept the inning alive with an RBI single that scored Brade. Sopocy took second base but West set Hunt down on strikes to get out of any additional scoring.
After Kevin Simmons and Brandon Williams both singled to start the second, the Spirits felt they may get out of it after they were able to get Kevin McEnna to ground into a double-play. With Williams still alive at second and with two out, he was able to move to third on a wild pitch and a single by Jim Johan made it 4 to 1, Tigers. Johan moved to second on a single by Lamkin and a walk to Dick loaded the bags for Bird, who also walked to give the Tigers another run. A single by Kellner scored Lamkin and a double by Bergset created a gaping wound after being compounded by a fielding error by the Spirits outfield that allowed all 3 runners to score. The Spirits then turned to Scott to stop the bleeding and he was able to get West to fly out to end the inning with the Tigers up by a score of 9 to 1.
“Got to be honest, I thought it was over at that point, second inning or not,” Lee commented later. “A few big hits, a mistake or two, a few pitches in the dirt and just like that we have a mountain to climb. Got to give the guys credit though. Nobody checked out. We hung in and tried to battle.”
The ghosts followed the big Tigers inning with 6 runs in the bottom half of the second to cut the Tigers lead to, 9 to 4 after Todd Murrah led off the frame with a single. David Tipton drew a walk and a single by Scott loaded the bases. Duran went down swinging and Brade followed with a fly out, but a single by McPherson scored Murrah and an error by Simmons a third allowed Tipton and Scott both to cross the plate. Hitzeman then doubled to push McPherson to third, and an RBI single by Lee scored McPherson to keep the inning rolling. Lee swiped second with Hitzeman on third and a walk to Sopocy loaded the bases again. This time, Hunt followed with a single that scored both Hitzeman and Lee before Murrah grounded out to end the inning.
The Tigers rallied for another pair of runs in the third after Bass reached on an error and moved to second after Lee threw the ball away when trying to return it to Scott on the mound. Scott struck out Mauldin and was able to get Simmons to ground out, but a walk to Williams kept the inning moving and after Williams stole second base, both runners scored when McEnna reached on an error by Brade in the outfield. Up 11 to 7, Johan also reached after being hit by a pitch but Scott was able to get Lamkin looking to close the frame.
The Tigers increased their lead to, 12 to 7 following an RBI double by Kellner in the top of the fourth but the Spirits attempted to claw back in the bottom frame after Hitzeman reached on an error to lead things off. Lee flew out and Sopocy replaced Hitzeman at first after reaching on a fielder’s choice that put out Hitzeman at second base. Sopocy swiped second and then scored when Hunt doubled. Three straight walks to Murrah, Tipton, and Scott allowed Hunt to score and Murrah later crossed the dish on a passed ball to cut the score to, 12 to 10 before Duran struck out looking.
Up two runs and heading into the fifth inning with the league’s two-hour game clock coming into play, the Tigers added an insurance run to make it 13 to 10. It wasn’t in the cards for the ghosts, however, as Brade, McPherson, and Hitzeman went 1-2-3 with ground outs to end the game.
“Rough start, otherwise we really had a shot in this one,” Lee continued. “Awesome effort by (Shawn) Hunt at the dish tonight. He’s seeing the ball well right now. Take away that first inning and this would have looked much different. They’re a new team and now we’ve had a chance to see them play, so we’ll look at this match up a little differently next time.”
The Spirits return to action next Wednesday night when they visit the Killer Bees. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30PM and fans can click here for additional schedule details.
Central Roofing and Restoration Players of the Game
Shawn Hunt (2-3, 2B, R, 3 RBI)
Travis Hitzeman (2-4, 2B, R, SB)
Stacy Scott (1-2, BB, R, RBI; 3.1 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K)