Jennie Finch made her final pitching start for the U.S. National softball team Monday, throwing a 3-hit shutout in a 3-0 win over the U.S. Futures National team.
Jennie Finch threw a 3-hit shutout Monday in her final pitching start for the U.S. National softball team.
Finch is expected to play first base in the championship game of the KFC World Cup of Softball in Oklahoma City on Monday night. That game against Japan will be her last with the National team. The former University of Arizona All-America, who has a home in Tucson, is retiring from the sport after her professional season with the Chicago Bandits ends in August.
National team players will wear Finch glitter headbands headbands with her motto “Dream and Believe” against Japan, which upset the U.S. to win a gold medal at the 2008 Olympics.
Finch played on the National team for a decade, winning gold and silver Olympics medals and at three World Championships. She was 2009 USA Softball Player of the Year.
I feel an outpouring of gratitude for so much and for so many that it’s really hard to put into words," said Finch, who announced her retirement last week. "Playing USA Softball has been more to me than I ever imagined possible. I could never have dreamed what an amazing ride this has been.
“To be a little girl, wearing USA stuff, watching the Olympics and then to grow older and to compete alongside the women you have admired is unbelievable. It’s so surreal that I was able to play with my role models in Leah (O’Brien-Amico), Lisa (Fernandez) and Laura (Berg). There is so much history, pride and tradition with USA Softball and I feel extremely blessed to be a part of it for the last 10 years. It has taken me places I have never dreamt of and given me relationships that go way beyond the softball field."
Finch and her husband, pro baseball pitcher Casey Daigle, plan to live in Tucson with their 4-year-old son Ace.
Jeff Metcalfe
Azcentral.com