NEW HAMBURG PLACES THIRD AT BAGE RUTH WORLD SERIES

ABBEVILLE, La. -- Despite falling into the loser's bracket after its first game, the New Hamburg Heat 16-year-old girls softball squad was able to nab a third-place finish in the 10-team Babe Ruth World Series that ended Saturday.

The Heat went 4-4 in the tournament overall, including 2-2 in bracket play after they had also been 2-2 to advance out of pool play.

"To wind up third out of 10 teams, I think was great," said New Hamburg manager Doug Johnson, whose squad finished the year with an overall record of 33-5. "There were some tremendous teams there and our girls did a super job."

New Hamburg ended the tournament late Friday night by losing 10-0 to a team from Hawaii, which then lost Saturday to a Texas squad in the finals.

To clinch at least a third-place finish, the Heat posted a thrilling 1-0 victory over a team from Washington state Thursday night. Washington loaded the bases with nobody out in the bottom of the seventh inning, but pitcher Dana Essner escaped the jam. Allison Johnson drove in the Heat's only run.

"That was probably the highlight of the tournament for us," said Doug Johnson. "Washington had a very good team and to beat them was quite an accomplishment."