OKLAHOMA CITY — The University of Missouri’s Tori Finucane (Germantown, Md.) had a big week in the circle for the Tigers. The freshman pitched 21 innings leading her team to a three wins including two over then-No. 5 Florida and one over Missouri State. For her efforts, Tori is this week’s USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Week the Amateur Softball Association (ASA) of America and USA Softball announced today.
“To be recognized by USA Softball is incredibly exciting, but I’ll be sharing that excitement with my teammates here at Mizzou,” said Finucane. “Their support has been great this season and will only continue. The same can be said for my coaches, who’ve helped us get this far this season, and there’s still more games to look forward to.”
Finucane started her standout week with a complete seven-inning, three hit shutout of Missouri State on Wednesday in which she recorded five strikeouts. The freshman pitcher carried her the momentum into a three-game series with Southeastern Conference (SEC) heavyweight Florida over the weekend. Fanucane controlled game one early as she faced just two batters over the minimum through six innings. The Gators made a late rally but Fanucane closed the door and secured the 5-3 win of the Tigers.
In the final game of the weekend, Fanucane quickly found her team leading 5-0 after just an inning and a half. Determined not to give up the lead, she managed to get Florida out in four different bases loaded situations. The Maryland native struck out 10 batters and stranded 10 Gators on the bases overall to get the win, her 19th win of the year.
“Tori
has stepped in and pitched great this year,” said Missouri Head Coach
EhrenEarleywine. “This past weekend was just a continuation of what she
has been doing for us all season long. We are very proud of her, to say the
least.”
For the week, Finucane
held opponents to a .181 batting average over 21 innings of work and struck out
21 in the process. She was also named the SEC pitcher of the week. This is the first USA Softball National Collegiate
Player of the Week honor for Tori and the first for a Missouri Tiger since
Ashley Fleming earn the award in week nine of the 2012 season.
2014
USA Softball National Collegiate Players of the Week
Week 1 (Feb. 6-9): Kylee Lahners - Washington - Junior - Infielder– Laguna
Hills, Calif.
Week 2
(Feb. 10 -16): Aimee Creger - Tulsa - Senior - Pitcher– Yukon, Okla.
Week 3
(Feb. 17-23): Ally Carda – UCLA – Junior – Pitcher – Elk Grove, Calif.
Week 4
(Feb. 24 – March 2): Cheridan Hawkins – Oregon – Sophomore – Anderson, Calif.
Week 5
(March 3-9): Dallas Escobedo - Arizona State - Senior - Pitcher– Glendale,
Ariz.
Week 6
(March 10-16): Alex Hugo – Georgia – Sophomore – Infielder – Olathe, Kan.
Week 7
(March 17-23): Jaclyn Traina – Alabama – Senior – Pitcher – Naples, Fla.
Week 8
(March 24 – 30): Ellen Renfroe – Tennessee – Senior – Pitcher – Jackson, Tenn.
Week 9
(March 31 – April 6): Katiyana Mauga – Arizona – Freshman – Outfielder – San
Diego, Calif.
Week
10 (April 7 – 13): Michelle Mueller – Wisconsin – Senior – Third Base –
LaCrosse, Wis.
Week
11 (April 14 – 20): Meredith Owen – Stetson – Senior – Pitcher – Jackson, Miss.
Week 12 (April 21 – 27): Tori Finucane – Missouri – Freshman – Pitcher – Germantown, Md.
About
ASA
The Amateur Softball Association, founded in 1933, is the National Governing
Body of softball in the United States and a member of the United States Olympic
Committee. The ASA has become one of the nation’s largest sports organizations
and now sanctions competition in every state through a network of 76 local
associations. The ASA has grown from a few hundred teams in the early days to
over 165,000 teams today, representing a membership of more than 2.5 million.
For more information on the ASA, visit http://www.asasoftball.com/.
About USA
Softball
USA Softball is the brand created, operated and owned by the ASA that links the
USA Men’s, Women’s, Junior Boys’ and Junior Girls’ National Team programs
together. USA Softball is responsible for training, equipping and promoting
these four National Teams to compete in international and domestic
competitions. The USA Softball Women’s National Team is one of the only two
women’s sports involved in the Olympic movement to capture three consecutive
gold medals at the Olympic Games since 1996. The U.S. women have also won nine
World Championship titles including the last seven consecutive as well as
claimed six World Cup of Softball titles. For more information about USA
Softball, please visit http://www.usasoftball.com.
About the NCAA Women’s College World Series
The ASA Hall of Fame Stadium serves as the home to the NCAA Women’s College
World Series (WCWS). For the 24th year, the top eight college teams
in the nation will head to Oklahoma City and complete for a National
Championship title. Last year, over 70,000 fans attended the WCWS. Experience
It Live May 29 to June 4 in Oklahoma City. Tickets for the 2014 NCAA WCWS are
on sale now, click here to
purchase your tickets and make a date with champions!