(August 24, 2025 – Carrollton, TX) Hopes were high and quickly faded into the same ol’, same ol’ feeling as the Spirits (50+) squad watched its hopes of a DFW ABA 50 League championship disappear almost as quickly as the first inning ended in game three of the best-of-three series on Sunday morning at McInnish Park.
The Spirits got off to a fast start with a 2-run first inning but that confidence quickly faded as poor defense and gas tanks that were running on fumes quickly made their way into the game as the Redbirds rallied with a 5-run bottom frame and never looked back.
Showing grit and what most would consider rubber arms, both Spirits pitcher, Mike Sopocy and Redbirds pitcher, Troy Key once again faced off just a day after each completing complete games on the mound. It appears the scripts flipped from the day prior as Key would get the best of the Spirits offense on this day, while Redbirds bats found the holes against Sopocy on day two. Both pitchers went the distance once again, with Key earning the victory allowing just 4 earned on 8 hits while walking 2 and striking out one. Sopocy would walk just one and strike out 3, however a combination of hits and untimely defense contributed to what later turned out to be a 12 to 4 victory and yet another championship but the Redbirds.
In the first inning, Eric McPherson walked and Dee Mauldin followed with a single. Kirk Sipila flew out but Shawn Lee kept the inning alive after reaching on an error. The error proved costly as a single by Kent Fischer scored both McPherson and Mauldin to give the Spirits a 2 to 0 lead early. Sopocy kept things rolling by reaching on another error but Shawn Hunt grounded into a double-play to allow the Redbirds to leave without further damage occurring.
“It’s stupid, but right at that moment, we really believed we might be able to do this,” Lee mentioned. “We had some positive momentum heading out to the field on defense and my hoping that maybe the were rattled was short lived.”
Kevin Fought and Rich Beller led the bottom frame off with a singles before a routine fly ball to right field was overrun by the Spirits defense, allowing Fought to score and for Mahalik to reach second safely. Jerry Gamez followed with a single to score both Beller and Mahalik and after Darron Wilkinson flew out, Sopocy hit Mark Tierney with a pitch before Chris Cec added another single. An RBI single by Marcos Vidal made it 5 to 2, Redibirds before the Spirits were able to retire Vidal on a fielder’s choice and were able to get Stephen Smith to fly out.
“The momentum seemed to die after that inning,” Lee continued. “We still had hope but we knew we couldn’t make any mistakes. You could just feel doubt setting in. Are we really going to do this again? We tried to keep our heads up but I felt like our dugout wasn’t the same the rest of the game.”
Things remained quiet after a busy first inning but the Spirits offense was able to chip away momentarily by adding a run in the top half of the fourth after Lee doubled to right-center field and scored no an RBI single by Fischer. Sopocy drew a walk but Hunt reached on a fielder’s choice that squeezed Fischer at third before Todd Murrah flew out and Brian Hackney lost a battle of strikes to end the short rally.
In the fifth, the Spirits closed the gap to a single run after Earl German singled with one out. Stacy Scott grounded out for the second out but McPherson followed an RBI single to score German and the Spirits were able to cut the score to a single run, with the Redbirds now up 5 to 4.
Unfortunately, that would be the last of the Spirits offense the rest of the way. The Redbirds rallied for 5 runs in the bottom frame to go up 9 to 4 and added 3 more runs in the sixth as the Spirits tanks each seemed to show red for signs of being empty.
“We had some chances to win this thing,” Lee concluded. “Losing sucks but when the dust settles, you look at the more important things. I mean, (Mike) Sopocy threw 14 innings in just two days. Same with Troy (Key) for them. That’s just crazy shit! And then for our catcher to catch all 21 innings in two days. (Shawn) Hunt is an absolute warrior back there. Those are the things that stand out. We’re old and broken and these guys dialing it back to their 20s just to compete is some awesome stuff to watch. We have a great team. We know that. We can hang with just about anyone and if we don’t make mistakes, we will beat you. Hats off to the Redbirds. They got it one. Again. It sucks but they’re some of the best of the best. We’ll hit the reset button and try to earn one in the fall while also looking to have fun playing some travel ball. Win or lose, we’ve still got the best dugout.”
The Spirits finish the season with a second place finish and a overall record of 15-6 including playoffs.
Five Star Ford Players of the Games
Kent Fischer (2-3, 3 RBI)
Eric McPherson (2-2, BB, R, RBI)
Shawn Lee (1-3, 2B, R)