(April 3, 2024 – Euless, TX) Perhaps it isn’t worth the drive anymore. Look at your schedule. See your opponent. See it’s the Redbirds. Throw in the towel. It may seem harsh but in reality, it appears there is simply no answer for the Spirits when it comes to their baseball Kryptonite, the Redbirds. Despite the friendly banter and camaraderie that takes place between teams and players, the Redbirds simply glide past the Spirits when it comes to competition on the field.
In this particular match-up, it was a 14 to 1 blowout at the hands of the birds, elapsing 14 runs from 11 hits, 3 walks, and 7 Spirits fielding errors as the Spirits (40+) club left the park with its collectives tail between its legs.
“We never seem to have an answer,” team skipper, Shawn Lee mentioned later. “I wasn’t there to watch but it appears it was no different than most match-ups we have with them. A few laughs, a few pokes at one another because we’re all friends, and then we silently sit back and watch as they kick our asses off the field. Jonathan Duran filled in and explained that we were clueless about fielding a baseball and that the dugout was dead silent the whole game. Then why play? Where’s the fire? Where’s the battle inside to overcome? I don’t get it. We just seem to back down and it’s tiring.”
Eric McPherson remained hot, adding another hit along with a stolen base to keep his hitting streak alive. Ryan Marsland added a double and was also hit by a pitch, and both Eric Goetz and David Tipton each finished 1-for-1 on the night, with Goetz also adding a walk. Other than that, it was crickets for the Spirits offense, earning just one run off 5 hits as Redbirds starter Dustin Harrison and closer, Jerry Anderson made easy work of them in a mercy-rule, shortened game.
Four players for the Redbirds finished with 2 hits, including Joe Lowry, Jerry Gamez, Brant Farris, and Brent Smerczynski, who added a triple, 2 runs scored, and 3 runs batted in.
The team will forget about this one and try to move forward next week when they host the Tigers. First pitch is scheduled for 8:45PM on Arlington Field at Texas Star. Fans can click here for schedule details.
Central Roofing and Restoration Players of the Game
Ryan Marsland (1-1, 2B; 2 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, BB)
Eric Goetz (1-1, BB)
Eric McPherson (1-2, R, SB)