Background and career
Jennie Lynn Finch-Daigle (born September 3, 1980) is an American former softball player. She played for the Arizona Wildcats softball team from 1999 to 2002, where she won the 2001 Women's College World Series and was named collegiate All-American. Finch was a member of the United States women's national softball team that won the gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics and the silver medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics. She also pitched for the Chicago Bandits of the National Pro Fastpitch from 2005 to 2010. Finch is ranked in several categories for both the Wildcats in the Pac-12 Conference and the NCAA Division I, where she was named #2 Greatest College Softball Player. She is the National Pro Fastpitch career leader in WHIP and is a National Softball Hall of Fame inductee. She has been ranked by Tucson, Arizona sportswriters as the #1 Best Arizona Wildcats Softball Player; picked the #5 Best NCAA Pitcher All-Time and was chosen by the Pac-12 for the All-Century Team as a pitcher. Time magazine described her as the most famous softball player in history. In 2010, Finch retired from softball to focus on her family. In August 2011, she started working at ESPN as a color commentator for National Pro Fastpitch and college softball games.
Finch was born in La Mirada, California. Finch has two older brothers, Shane and Landon Finch. She began playing softball at age five and pitching at age eight. Her father was her first pitching coach. Growing up, Finch was a bat girl for the University of California, Los Angeles. At La Mirada High School, Finch lettered four times in softball and twice each in basketball and volleyball. As a senior, she was the captain of all three sports. As a sophomore, she was an All-California Interscholastic Federation Division II choice in softball and All-Suburban League selection. In 2016, La Mirada retired her jersey number—the school's first for a softball player.
Finch began her career on February 5, 1999, winning a run-rule game against the UIC Flames. She achieved a career high in doubles and threw her first career no-hitter during the NCAA tournament on May 22 vs. the Texas State Bobcats. Though they made the World Series, Finch and the Wildcats were eventually eliminated by the DePaul Blue Demons on May 29.
For her sophomore year, Jennie Finch was named a 2009 National Fastpitch Coaches Association First Team All-American and First Team All-Pac-10. She also threw three no-hitters and led the Wildcats in home runs and slugging percentage and achieved a career best in hits and batting average. Finch began the year with a 21 consecutive game win streak; in a 10–2 run-rule over the Southern Miss Golden Eagles on February 6 to a shutout win over Cal State Northridge Matadors on April 13. After suffering her only losses in back-to-back games, Finch finished the year 8–0 starting a new streak with an April 29 victory vs. the Oregon Ducks that would span the next two seasons. Finch's 23rd and 29th wins were over the No. 1 Washington Huskies, the latter began a 35 scoreless inning streak, after allowing runs in the fourth inning she shutout the team the rest of the way for a 4–2 margin on May 27.
As a junior in 2001, Finch was again named First Team for the NFCA and the conference, adding the Pitcher of the Year award. She would also hoist the Honda Sports Award for Softball Player of the Year. Finch's season ERA, wins and shutouts were and still do rank top 10 for the school. Along with a no-hitter and career highs in WHIP and RBIs, Finch opened the season with 31 consecutive scoreless innings spanning 6 wins that combined with the innings from her last game in 2000, was a career best 35 before being snapped in the second inning by a leadoff home run vs. McNeese State Cowgirls on February 24. On March 30, Finch hit two home runs and a double in an 11–1 romp of the Oregon Ducks to drive in a career best 9 RBIs, which tied her third all-time in the NCAA for a single game. On April 8, Finch won her third game over a No. 1 team, the UCLA Bruins. Finch and the Wildcats were the No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament and made it to the World Series for a third straight year with Finch in the circle. She recorded victories over the California Golden Bears and the Oklahoma Sooners to reach the finals. In a 1–0 shutout of the UCLA Bruins, Finch set an NCAA record with a perfect season capped with the National Championship. Finch also had a hit in the game and was named MVP for the series. The victory extended her win streak to 40 consecutive games along with the 8 to end the 2000 season. Her season was voted by Arizona Wildcats fans as the Best Individual Season for softball.
For a final season, Finch was named 2002 First Team for the NFCA and the Pac-10 conference as well as Pitcher of The Year and Honda Sports Award for softball. Finch tossed three no-hitters and broke the season strikeouts record, while her wins and shutouts were and remain top-10 school records. Beginning on February 9 vs. the Cal State Fullerton Titans, Finch matched her own record of 35 consecutive scoreless innings that was broken in a 13–1 mercy win over the Northern Iowa Panthers on February 23.
