(August 1, 2026 – Carrollton, TX) The Spirits (50+) once again didn’t make things easy on themselves, needing to come from behind and then also stave off a near comeback against the Laguneros on Saturday morning to even the best-of-three series, 2-2.
The Spirits took the lead in the third inning after scoring a pair of runs when Vince Parello led off the third with a single. Mike Sopocy followed with a single but the runners were held up after Stacy Scott flew out. Earl German bunted over the runners to put the both in scoring position with two outs, and Ben Northcutt played her with a double that scored both runners. Dee Mauldin drew a walk but Kirk Sipila lined out to strand Northcutt at second base.
Despite adding a pair of runners in the fourth, the Laguneros were able to escape unscathed before tacking on 3 runs in the bottom half of the inning to take the lead, 3 to 2. Sammy Vives singled before Luis Ruiz flew out. Adan Galvan singled to move Vives to send before Juan Luis Perez reached on an error by Sipial that allowed Vives to score. Galvan and Perez advanced on a double-steal before a single by Miguel Navarro scored both runners for the lead.
German, who closed the final 3 plus innings of game one took the start before Sopocy came in to take the game the rest of the way. German went 3.2 innings allowing 0 earned off 5 hits while walking 2 and striking out three.
The Spirits rallied for the lead in the top half of the fifth after Shawn Hunt led off with a single and moved to second when Parello also singled. The Laguneros turned to Ignacio Franco to replace Luis Valedez on the mound before Scott reached on an error that allowed both Hunt and Parello to score. German grounded out but another double by Northcutt scored both Sopocy and Scott to give the Spirits a 6 to 3 lead before Sipila flew out and Brian Kellner lined out.
Things remained quiet until the cliche bottom of the seventh inning started to play out. Navarro grounded out to start the inning but Federico Ambriz singled and scored after Juan Norat tripled. Carlos Pena then singled home Norat to cut the lead to 6 to 5, and Pena moved to second after Vives singled. Poised to tie or walk the game off, Ruiz singled to load the bags before Galvan grounded into a double-play that sealed the victory.
“A pair of errors really could have changed this game,” Shawn Lee mentioned afterwards. “Great to see the guys rally with the double-play at the end to show that our defense can win games as well. They are scrappy and for some reason, we play tight in the playoffs or just when we play them. I don’t get it. We should really dislike them for the way the act and for some of the nonsense they’ve done on the field but instead of throwing punches, we have a wait and see attitude. That’s not championship worthy. A win is a win. We’ll take it and look to close this up to move on tomorrow.”
With the win, the team forces a third and decisive game tomorrow at McInnish Park, Field #11. First pitcher is scheduled for 9:00AM.
Spirits Players of the Game
Ben Northcutt (2-2, 2 2B, 4 RBI)
Vince Parello (2-3, 2 R)
Mike Sopocy (2-2, 2 R; 3.1 IP, 2 ER, 7 H)