The Hillenbrand Stadium crowd rose to its feet one last time for Jennie Finch.
Monday night, the face of softball worldwide got her last curtain call not from the batter's box or pitching circle, but standing behind home plate, microphone in hand.
The sold-out crowd, 2,623 strong, cheered.
"I feel beyond blessed to wear that Wildcat uniform," she said.
When her speech was through, Finch ran to first base and finished a 9-0 exhibition win against the Arizona Wildcats.
That the Wildcats were the victims of a perfect game by National Pro Fastpitch all-stars Cat Osterman and Jamee Juarez didn't matter much. Neither did UA freshman Shelby Babcock's performance, for the first time, in front of a large home crowd.
The night was about Finch, who made her last softball game appearance in front of a paying crowd.
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Finch retired earlier this year and will play later this month in a UA alumni free-admission game before focusing on her family.
"Tonight was a celebration," she said. "What an incredible homecoming."
When the NPF first contacted UA coach Mike Candrea, league officials wondered if the Wildcats could draw 1,000 people. They more than doubled that figure.
Grace Lopez planned the weekend around it.
She and her family drove from Santa Rosa, about two hours west on Arizona 86, on Sunday. They spent Sunday and Monday night in a hotel - just to have an opportunity to watch Finch.
"It was worth it," she said.
Lopez and her 9-year-old daughter, Amber, stood down the third base line before moving to the railing that leads to the metallic bleachers beyond the left field wall.
"My family, we're all into softball," she said. "That's another reason why we're here - the love of the sport."
Asked what made Finch so good, Amber turned away shyly.
"She practices," she said.
Alice Pederson remembers first seeing Finch as a freshman at the UA in 1998. A season-ticket holder, the 81-year-old Pederson wanted to see Finch one more time.
"We're softball-lovers," she said. "This is her last game live in Tucson."
In the middle of the fourth inning, Candrea introduced the five former Wildcats on the NPF All-Star team - Taryne Mowatt, Chelsie Mesa, Mackenzie Vandergeest, Caitlin Lowe and Finch. Lowe spent the game in the dugout because of an earlier knee injury.
"They all hold a special place in my heart because of what they've done for this program," Candrea said. "Young kids come in here, and they desire to be like Jennie Finch, a Taryne Mowatt, a Caitlin Lowe."
Finch wasn't fabulous Monday. She ended four of the all-star team's first six frames with a pop out, a strikeout, a ground out and a fly out.
No one cared.
"She is the face of softball, but not only softball, but I think women's sports in general," Mowatt said. "To see her be so successful at the softball part, the family part, the life part, being able to speak in front of crowds, being able to influence people.
"She's done it so humbly. She owns every record. She's won every award.
"And she will be the first person to give you a high-five when she gets in the dugout, to say, 'Good job.'"
Finch, who has a home in Tucson but hasn't decided where to live during retirement, called the night "an enjoyable, incredible way to end my days on the playing field."
Candrea wanted to make sure her last game was at Hillenbrand Stadium.
"It brings you back to feeling like a kid again, back in college," Finch said.
If you squinted for a moment, the crowd roaring and Finch standing in the middle of the sport's legendary stadium, it was.
