AURORA — Shelby Babcock said she wasn’t all there at the plate, but she certainly was all that in the pitcher’s circle.
Babcock allowed only a single hit in the Class 5A state softball title game against Bear Creek to guide coach Dawn Gaffin’s Legacy Lightning to a 2-0 victory Saturday at the Aurora Sports Complex.
“I wasn’t at the plate brain- wise, but I was confident that my team would pull through,” said Babcock, The Denver Post most valuable player.
Her Legacy teammates did pull through, just when it looked like the Lightning might be in for another marathon game.
Senior Breana Mathews hit a solo home run in the bottom of the fourth inning to put Legacy on track to win the school’s first team title in any sport.
“I didn’t even see it,” Mathews said of her home run. “I got to first and I heard (assistant) coach (Julie) Simmons say it was over.”
Legacy (23-2) lost two one-run games all season. Bear Creek (23-2) only lost two games as well, both to the Lightning.
“We really wanted to come back and beat Legacy to show them that the first game was not how it should have been,” Bear Creek coach Rory Rainey said. “But you get down to final four teams … and those are great teams.”
Legacy, with three freshmen and three sophomores in the starting lineup, avenged its only in-state loss with a 2-0 victory over Wheat Ridge in the state semifinals Saturday morning.
Cassie Long hit a two-run double in that game to send Legacy into the final. Long added some insurance in the championship game when she drove in Melissa Marcovecchio in the bottom of the sixth inning.
“We’ve had plenty of extra- inning marathon games, so it was great to get that extra run,” Long said.
Marcovecchio was a terror in her own right, hitting two singles and stealing two bases.
Bear Creek, meanwhile, will bring back a solid crew for the 2008 season, with junior pitcher Mallorie Sulaski atop that list.
CLASS 5A MVP
Shelby Babcock, sophomore, Legacy: Babcock was as stellar in the postseason as the regular season. She pitched three shutouts in four state playoff games, including a one-hit performance in the championship game. She finished the season with 228 strikeouts and a 0.30 earned-run average.
LEGACY 2, BEAR CREEK 0
Bear Creek 000 000 0 – 0 1 1
Legacy 000 101 x – 2 4 1
Bear Creek – Sulaski p 3-0-0-0, Atencio 2b 3-0-0-0, Pacheco ss 2-0-0-0, Strobel 1b 3-0-0-0, Hires cf 3-0-1-0, Olmedo c 2-0-0-0, Moody dh 2-0-0-0, Starr lf 2-0-0-0, Salazar rf 2-0-0-0. Totals 22-0-1-0.
Legacy – Marcovecchio 2b 3-1-2-0, Long 3b 2-0-1-1, Mathews ss 3-1-1-1, Torrez c 3-0-0-0, Babcock p 2-0-0-0, Rendon dh 2-0-0-0, Rodriguez cf 2-0-0-0, Wittkop 1b 1-0-0-0, Apodaca ph 1-0-0-0, Mattila rf 2-0-0-0. Totals 21-2-4-2.
E – Olmedo; Mathews. LOB – Bear Creek 2; Legacy 2. HR – Mathews, solo in fourth. SAC – Long. SB – Marcovecchio 2, Long. Caught stealing – Pacheco.
Batteries – Sulaski and Olmedo; Babcock and Torrez. W – Babcock (21-2), 7 K’s. L – Sulaski (23-2), 6 K’s. WP – Sulaski. Time – 1:14.
SEMIFINALS
BEAR CREEK 5, COLUMBINE 1
Columbine 000 001 0 – 1 2 2
Bear Creek 002 030 x – 5 7 3
O’Brien and Duncan; Sulaski and Olmedo. W – Sulaksi (23-1), 12 K’s. L – O’Brien (20-4), 8 K’s. Highlights – Duncan, C, RBI; Salazar, BC, 2-for-2, RBI, 2 runs scored; Pacheco, BC, 2-for-3, 4 RBIs.
LEGACY 2, WHEAT RIDGE 0
Wheat Ridge 000 000 0 – 0 2 2
Legacy 000 020 x – 2 6 0
G. Zimmerman and Hickey; Babcock and Torrez. W – Babcock (20-2), 7 K’s. L – G. Zimmerman (14-3), 11 K’s. Highlights – Castillo, WR, 1-for-4, SB; Torrez, L, 2-for-3; Long, L, 1-for-3, 2B, 2 RBIs.
