Basic unbowed by lost lead, bounces Silverado in play-in

The script was starting to look a little too familiar for Basic’s softball team.

Take the lead, battle to hang on to it, watch it evaporate.

The Wolves, though, wrote a much happier ending Friday.

After falling behind 4-3 in the top of the fifth inning, Basic rallied for four runs in the bottom on their way to an 8-4 win over Silverado in the Southeast League play-in game at Foothill.

Basic (14-9) earned the Southeast League’s final spot in the Sunrise Region playoffs and will open the postseason at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday at Northeast League champion Eldorado.

“Our history with this team is we’ve been battling and battling, and then something goes wrong, and we just get deflated, and it goes south,” Basic coach Bart Black said. “Today, we just straight up beat Silverado. We earned just about everything we got. ... This was the best game we’ve played all year.”

Madison Sisco gave Silverado (17-13) a 4-3 lead with a two-run home run to left in the top of the fifth. Basic pitcher Tiana Tapuala worked out of further trouble, and the Wolves quickly responded on offense.

Amanda Green’s two-out RBI single to center knocked in Leah Causey with the tying run, and courtesy runner Nina Guilford scored the go-ahead run when the ball was bobbled.

Two batters later, No. 9 hitter Caylie Springer ripped a two-run double to left-center, scoring Green and Teuila Sheehan to bump the lead to 7-4.

“We buckled down and did our jobs,” Causey said. “Everyone on the team did exactly what they needed to do.”

Tapuala allowed only a two-out single in the sixth and retired the side in order in the seventh. She allowed eight hits and walked three.

“She didn’t let the home run get to her,” Causey said of her batterymate. “She bounced back and did her job.”

Marissa Ross was 3-for-4 with an RBI for Basic. Paige Blake went 3-for-4 and also made a fantastic running backhand catch in left-center to end a bases-loaded threat in the second.

“That was big,” Black said. “She’s been dynamite all year. When a ball goes up to center field, I know that’s an out. If I could convince our pitchers to just get fly balls to center field, we’d win every game.”

Sheehan was 2-for-3, and Green finished 2-for-4 for Basic, which had 13 hits.

Ari Montuno was 3-for-4 with a double, and Kaitlynn Crane went 2-for-3 for Silverado.