2021 Spirits (45+) Shock Cardinals to Win NTABL Masters Championship

North Texas Amateur Baseball League, 45+ Masters Division

Dals Spirits 5, Cardinals 4

Submitted by Shawn Lee, Dallas Spirits manager

(September 27, 2021 – Plano, TX) It was a great evening for baseball in Plano, and the Dallas Spirits (45+) squad was ready to go toe to toe with a friendly foe in the form of the Dallas Cardinals for walnut and bronze in North Texas Amateur Baseball League (NTABL) play. After dropping three regular-season games to the Cardinals, the Spirits found themselves in the driver’s seat as the Cardinals were making their way back through the loser’s bracket to the championship game through the league’s double-elimination tournament and needed to beat the Spirits twice in order to become champions.

The teams took to the diamond on Graham Field at Prestonwood Academy with the ‘ghosts’ fresh off of a 6-game winning streak where they outscored opponents by a margin of 51-15. One of those wins included a semifinal playoff win over the very same Cardinals they were about to square off against. The Spirits sent out multi-squad ace, Duane Aponte to pitch against a solid hitting Cardinals team and the birds sent out veteran pitcher, Troy Key, who essentially owned the Spirits during the regular season. Key, as it would turn out would become a story all his own as the night progressed.

(Click HERE to read the rest of the championship story)