Babcock leads Legacy to second straight 5A softball crown

Paul Willis, Special to the Rocky

Published October 18, 2008 at 6:14 p.m.

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AURORA — Colorado softball teams thought they were seeing the best of Shelby Babcock over the past three seasons.

They weren’t.

The Legacy pitcher’s absolute best was on display the past two days at Aurora Sports Park, where she led the Lightning to its second consecutive Class 5A crown by allowing one run in 28 innings over four games. Legacy clinched the title Saturday as Buggs Torrez’s three-run homer and Babcock’s continued dominance paved the way to a 4-1 win against Ralston Valley.

“She was bringing her game this weekend,” said Torrez, who catches Babcock. “She wanted it and it showed. She was throwing phenomenal.”

As difficult as it is to imagine that Babcock had another gear, she raised her game to that plateau in the tournament. The junior struck out a mind-boggling 60 batters in the four games and allowed only five total hits. The Rocky Mountain News’ tournament MVP pitched a no-hitter earlier Saturday in a 1-0 win against Bear Creek in the semifinals, coming one walk away from a perfect game.

“I had a lot more strikeouts than I did last year in state, so it was pretty good,” said Babcock, who fanned 31 in four wins last season. “I wasn’t thinking about it at all, though. I was just pitching the ball and seeing where it took us.”

Where it took the Lightning was to title No. 2 in what possibly could be a three-year run, considering Legacy will lose only senior Kellen Wittkop among its starting lineup.

The matchup with Ralston Valley brought about the unique situation of both teams attempting to defend a title. While Legacy claimed 5A last season, Ralston Valley won 4A. Things were tight until Torrez’s game-breaking three-run bomb in the third made it 4-0 and put the Lightning in command.

The blast conjured memories of last season’s championship game, when then-senior Breana Matthews’ home run helped produce a 2-0 win against Bear Creek. Both homers were to center field, and in both cases, the center fielder knocked over the portable fence while attempting to chase down the ball.

“Not only that, but Buggs is wearing Breanna’s old jersey,” Legacy coach Dawn Gaffin said. “They’re both No. 10. I don’t think (Torrez) knows that yet.”

Torrez, a sophomore, already seems to be a state tournament veteran. She hit a key home run in the quarterfinals last season, but none of her hits were as huge as this one, which came on a 1-2 outside fastball from Ralston Valley pitcher Meaghan Murphy.

“I honestly didn’t think it was going over because I didn’t think I had gotten all of it,” Torrez said. “I just saw the fence fall over and the ball go over, and it was a big relief for the whole team. I was just trying to get it to a gap, just get it in play.”

Ralston Valley got on the board in the fifth, manufacturing the only run against Babcock in the tournament when Jackie Sanzolene’s infield single scored Murphy from third. The run was unearned because Murphy reached third on a throwing error after doubling to lead off the inning. That meant Babcock had a 0.00 ERA for the four games.

“This is Shelby,” Gaffin said. “I mean last weekend (in regionals), we score 22 runs and she gives up no hits. This weekend, I lost track of how many strikeouts she had. We don’t even count them. We’re like, this is Shelby, and here we go.”

Ralston Valley (17-8) never mounted another threat against the right-hander, and the Mustangs’ loss means the powerhouse Jefferson County League has not had a title-winner the past five seasons. At least one Jeffco team has been in every championship game since 1991, but none has taken home the championship hardware since Wheat Ridge in 2003.

“I thought the kids had a great tournament,” Ralston Valley coach Wendy Davies said. “They had a great year and we came back with a lot of heart. Had we not given up that home run, on a 1-2 pitch, we might still be playing.”

Ralston Valley will be in good shape next season, too, although the Mustangs will have to replace four seniors. Among those coming back is the left-handed Murphy, who had a 3-1 record and hit two home runs in the tournament. Included was a solo blast in the semifinals against Mountain Vista, which Ralston Valley won 2-0 to reach the championship.

The Mustangs were on a revenge tour, facing all three teams they lost to at the beginning of the season. They got past Rocky Mountain and Mountain Vista, but couldn’t quite trump Legacy.

“I’d like to play them again,” Davies said with a laugh. “Our big plan was to beat all three of them, but we were short by one.”

With Babcock in the pitcher’s circle and at peak form, it would have been a tall task for any team to overthrow the Lightning.

“Shelby works so hard; that’s all she does,” Legacy left fielder Jessica Vermillion said. “She puts so much effort into it and deserves everything she gets.”

Legacy . . . 013 000 0 - 4 8 1

Ralston Valley . . . 000 010 0 - 1 3 1

Legacy (ab-r-h-rbi) - Melissa Marcovecchio 2b 3-0-1-0, Payton Price rf 3-1-1-0, Buggs Torrez c 3-1-1-3, Shelby Babcock p 3-0-1-0, Rainey Gaffin cr 0-0-0-0, Kaitlyn Mattila 3b 3-1-1-0, Shae Rodriguez cf 3-0-1-0, Jessica Vermillion lf 3-0-0-0, Kellen Wittkop 1b 3-0-0-0, Jessica Bell ss 3-1-2-0. Pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-k) - Babcock ( W 23-1) 7-3-1-0-1-12.

Ralston Valley - Bri Donahue cf 3-0-1-0, Sydney Bell rf 3-0-0-0, Mary Towner 1b 2-0-0-0, Jenny Hedrick c 2-0-0-0, Kelley Reeves ss 2-0-0-0, Meaghan Murphy p 3-1-1-0, Jackie Sanzolone rf 3-0-1-1, Brittany Schieferecke 3b 3-0-1-1, Danielle Jagodzinski lf 2-0-0-0. Pitching - Murphy (L 17-8) 7-8-4-3-0-6.

E - Vermillion, Reeves. LOB - Legacy 4, Ralston Valley 4. 2B - Marcovecchio, Babcock, Murphy. HR - Torrez (two on in third). SB - Price. SAC - Marcovecchio, Price, Towner. HBP - Reeves.

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