(August 16, 2025 – Euless, TX) It was a hot one on Saturday and the combination of Texas heat alongside the heat from the Laguneros players and dugout throughout the day made it a nasty combination for the Spirits (50+) squad to handle business in, but handle they did. The ghosts rallied for a 12 to 2 mercy-ruled victory in game one and overcame a tie late in game two to walk away with a pair of wins and a ticket against the Redbirds next weekend for the DFW 50 Championship.
Spirits Use a Pair of Fives to Win Game One:
In game one, the Spirits broke a 1 to 1 tie in the bottom half of the fourth inning with a 5-run inning and later matched it again in the bottom half of the sixth to cruise to a 12 to 2 win. A number of Spirits hitters finished with 2 hits in the first game including Dee Mauldin, who scored twice, Kirk Sipila who also doubled, scored twice, knocked in a run and walked once, Shawn Lee and Kent Fischer, who both added an RBI and a pair of runs, and Brian Hackney also joined the two hit club with a pair of hits on the day alongside a run scored and 2 runs batted in. Shawn Hunt, who also doubled and knocked in a pair of runs joined Chris Allen in rounding off the box score highlights after contributing a hit, a sacrifice, and a pair of runs batted in.
Tied 1 to 1 in the fourth, Eric McPherson reached on an error by the Laguneros and the moved to third on a single by Mauldin. Mauldin swiped second before Sipila walked and Lee followed with an RBI single to score McPherson. Mauldin scored on an errant throw that allowed Sipila to move to third and after Lee took second base, Fischer knocked home Sipila with a single. Brian Hackney’s RBI single scored Lee to make it 5 to 1, Spirits, before the Laguneros turned to Juan Luis Perez to replace starter Luis Valadez at pitcher. Allen welcomed him to the game with an RBI single good to score Fischer before Mike Sopocy lost a battle of strikes and Hunt and Vince Parello flew out to close the inning with the Spirits up 6 to 1.
The Laguneros added a run in the top half of the fifth but the Spirits retaliated with another run of their own in the bottom frame after David Tipton and James Hardt both singled to start things off. German’s beautiful sacrifice bunt move the runners over and Tipton later scored on a wild pitch. Eric Reifschneider drew a walk but McPherspon and Mauldin flew out to spare the Laguneros any additional scoring.
In the bottom of the sixth, however, the offense picked up where it had left off and rallied for 5 runs before walking it off based on the league’s 10-run mercy rule. Sipila led off with a double and Lee followed with a single. Fischer singled to load the bases and Hackney followed with an RBI single to score Sipila. Allen’s sacrifice fly scored Lee and after Fischer stole third base and Hackney moved over on the throw, Sopocy’s RBI single scored Fischer before Hunt’s double scored both Hackney and Sopocy to end the game.
Spirits Survive Texas Heat and Angry Heat from Laguneros Dugout in Game Two:
In game two, things ran a little slower for the Spirits offense as the Texas heat started to take control on the turf fields at Texas Star. Due to the doubleheader style of play, it was clear both fatigue and heat was settling in and that was combined by numerous outbursts by the Laguneros dugout that slowed the game to breaks that lasted as long as ten minutes or more.
The Laguneros didn’t appear to feel things were going they way they preferred or expected, so there were several outbursts throughout the game directed to the umpiring crew that seemed to bring the game to a lagging status.
“For some reason they felt they were getting hosed,” team skipper, Shawn Lee commented. “We honestly weren’t sure what the problem was. They had an issue with numerous calls, strikes and balls, our lineup, all kinds of things. Their manager seemed to keep his composure but their players were all over the place. It was a bad look for a playoff game.”
The Spirits essentially watched and used the constant interruptions as times to rest and it appeared to prove useful as the game winded down. The Laguneros scored first in the bottom half of the second after Andreas Salinas drew a walk and advanced to third following a pair of ground outs. The walk hurt the Spirits as Salinas later scored on a passed ball before Earl German, the Spirits starting pitcher, struck out Carlos Cruz to close out the inning.
The Spirits then rallied for a pair of runs and a 2 to 1 lead in the top half of the third when Sopocy led off with a single and later scored on a double by Hunt. After Parello flew out, Stacy Scott followed with another double to score Hunt to give the ghosts the lead.
Things remained very quiet offensively for both teams until the Laguneros tied the game in the bottom half of the sixth when Perez drew a one-out walk and moved to third on a double by Santiago Munoz. Valadez later grounded out which allowed Perez to score to tie the game.
That set the table for the game’s final inning and with two outs in the seventh, Mauldin broke throw with a single and later moved to second on a passed ball. Because of the blunder, the Laguneros, who began to pitch to Sipila, arguably the Spirits best hitter, chose to intentionally walk him to bring up Lee. Lee choose to take on the opportunity into a 2-2 count after arguing the second strike and followed through with a hard single through the hole that was good enough to score Mauldin to give the Spirits the go ahead run before Fischer lost a battle of strikes to end the top frame.
The Spirits then turned Sopocy, the game one pitcher to close things out and that he did. He was able to get Escogido to line out before getting Ruize to fly out and Alfonzo Alanis to ground out to end the ball game.
“Great win against a pretty solid team,” Lee continued. “The blanked us earlier in the season and today they showed up with a completely different team and lineup. We weren’t sure what to expect. But we played flawless defense, saw some solid pitching, and we have a great catcher in Hunt to help curb the outcome. When we play without mistakes, we can run with anyone.”
The victories move the Spirits to next week’s championship series. Click here for game one schedule details and here for game two details.
Five Star Ford Players of the Games
Dee Mauldin (4-6, 2 2B, 3 R)
Mike Sopocy (2-5, 2 R, RBI; 7 IP, 6 H, 2 R, BB, 4 K, WG1, SG2)
Shawn Lee (4-6, 2 R, 2 RBI, GW RBI)
Shawn Hunt (3-5, 2 2B, R, 3 RBI)