Slammers Erase Seven-Run Deficit Before Falling at Babe Ruth World Series

A miraculous comeback by the Levittown Slammers fell just short on Friday as the under-16 softball team fell to a team from Wausau, Wisconsin 8-7 in extra innings at the Babe Ruth World Series. The loss eliminated the Slammers from World Series play.

Levittown trailed 7-0 after three innings and 7-1 after five, but the Slammers erased that deficit completely with a six-run top of the sixth. The biggest blow in the inning came from Alannah Basile, who hit a three-run double to cut the deficit to 7-5 with nobody out. Ashley Massoni singled in a run to cut the lead to 7-6, and Shamar Sanchez drove in the tying run with a single of her own.

The Slammers stranded multiple runners in each of the first three innings, including leaving the bases loaded in the top of the second. Wausau followed by scoring three runs off of Basile, who started for the Slammers, and one off of Massoni in the bottom of the second. They added two in the bottom of the third for the 7-0 lead.

The Slammers were able to get two runners on in the bottom of the eighth, but were unable to push a run across. Wausau got runners to second and third in the bottom of the eighth and were able to push the winning run across on an infield single.

Basile and Sanchez had historic days for the Slammers. Each player tied a Babe Ruth World Series record by picking up four hits against Wausaw. They each scored a run in addition to driving in runs in the sixth.

The Slammers, who were the first team from the metro area to reach the Babe Ruth World Series, ended the tournament with a third-place finish. They previously defeated Wausaw on Wednesday on a walk-off hit by Sanchez, but were unable to pull out a win on Friday despite the comeback.

Wausau will play Wilson County, North Carolina in the championship game tomorrow at 1 p.m. Mountain Daylight Time; if Wausau wins, a second game will follow to determine the World Series winner.

A special thanks to the Babe Ruth World Series website for supplying live stats and boxscores throughout the tournament.