Shelby Babcock pitched arguably the best six innings of her Wildcats

career on Sunday. Unfortunately, the game against Baylor was seven

innings long.

Babcock limited the Bears to one hit and no runs in the first six

innings, but gave up three runs on three hits and two walks in the

seventh to allow Baylor to gain a 3-2 lead and the win.

The Wildcats offense showed signs of life, scoring two runs against

Baylor’s Whitney Canion, who dominated Arizona on Friday. Those two

runs, however, would not be enough against the potent Bears offense,

which had scored 13 runs in the first two games of the series.

Arizona had a chance to put more runs on the board. They stranded

three runners in the bottom of the third when Lini Koria popped out to

left field.

Sunday’s game brought Arizona’s first three game series to an end, and

while a 2-1 loss was not what they had hoped for, there were

encouraging signs.

Babcock’s performance is the biggest bright spot for the Wildcats. The

freshman pitcher showed an ability to dominate for stretches in

Sunday’s game with her six-shutout innings. She also proved that she

could close games, with a 1-2-3 seventh inning on Saturday to earn the

Wildcats’ lone win of the series.

The offense also showed signs of life after a miserable outing on

Friday, with nine runs on Saturday and two on Sunday against Canion,

Baylor’s ace.