(August 2, 2026 – Carrollton, TX) Things started off slow in the rubber match between the Laguneros and the higher seeded Dallas Spirits (50+) Sunday morning, and it was the Spirits who started scoring first. The ghosts picked up 2 runs in the third inning only to see the Laguneros tie in the top half of the third before the team decided to pull away for good.
Mike Sopocy went the distance picking up the series clinching complete-game win. Sopocy threw for 7 complete and was brilliant with keeping Laguneros hitters off balance. Sopocy allowed 3 earned off 8 hits while walking just one and striking out a pair of hitters. More importantly, he saw his team’s defense only commit one error to help complete the elimination of the team’s foe.
Everyone in the lineup hit safely with the exception of two hitters out of 13, with Earl German adding a 2-for-2 day that included a run scored. Travis Hitzeman added a double and Ben Northcutt also doubled for a total of 3 doubles in two straight games. Northcutt finished with a pair of runs batted in as well. Eric Reifschneider finished 1-for-1 with a run scored and a sacrifice, and Shawn Hunt added a 1-for-1 performance with a run scored as well. Kirk Sipila finished 1-for-2 adding a run batted in and a walk, and Steven Nutt ended the day with a run scored, run batted in and a walk as well.
After the Laguneros tied the game at 2 to 2 in the top half of the third, the Spirits rallied for another pair in the bottom frame after Kent Fischer singled with two outs and moved to second after Vince Parello drew a walk. Northcutt’s double scored both runners to give the Spirits the lead before Sopocy lost a battle of strikes to end the inning.
In the fourth, the Spirits added another 4-spot to pull away for good after Hunt and German led off with back-to-back singles. Hunt was squeezed at third after Stacy Scott reached safely on a fielder’s choice, and after a single by Reifschneider loaded the bags, Nutt drew an RBI walk to score German. A single by Sipila scored Scott and a wild fielder’s choice that forced Sipila out at second and allowed Brian Kellner to reach safely was good enough to score both Reifschneider and Nutt. Hitzeman then doubled to put runners as the corners with two outs and a walk to Kevin Simmons loaded the bases again, however, Fischer went down swinging to end the inning.
The Spirits left 9 runners on bases throughout the game that could have ended up to be much worse for the Laguneros, but the team advances after the 8 to 3 victory. The team heads to the championship series to face the number one seeded Redbirds next Saturday. First game is scheduled for 9:00AM at Texas Star, Arlington Field.
Spirits Players of the Game
Mike Sopocy (7 IP, 3 ER, 8 H, BB, 2 K; 1-3, R)
Ben Northcutt (1-3, 2B, 2 RBI)
Earl German (2-2, R)