Freshman pitcher Tori Finucane of Missouri has been selected as the Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division I National Player of the Week for games played over April 21-27.

Named the Southeastern Conference Pitcher of the Week on Monday, Finucane went 3-0 from the circle, twirled three complete games and struck out 21 over 21 innings in leading the Tigers to a 5-0 win over Missouri State and a high-profile series victory at No. 3 Florida.

The Germantown, Md., native began her week by firing a three-hit shutout with five K’s during the triumph over Missouri State. She followed that up by allowing three earned runs on four hits with six strikeouts as UM nabbed the series opener from the third-ranked Gators, 5-3.

Sent back to the circle to start Sunday’s “rubber match,” Finucane struck out 10, scattering seven hits and permitted a pair of earned tallies as Missouri won the finale, 5-4.

“This honor means so much to me, but it should mean just as much to my great teammates here at Mizzou,” Finucane said. “One person can’t do it alone out there, and my teammates always have my back, which I truly appreciate. There is no possible way I could have reached this point without the support of my teammates and coaches. They are always there, helping and supporting me on and off the field. And we still have more work left to do this season, which is the most exciting part.”

“Tori has had a great season, and this past weekend was just a continuation of what she has been doing all year,” Missouri head coach Ehren Earleywine said. “We are very proud of her, to say the least.”

Finucane and the Tigers return to action on Tues., April 29, when they host Creighton, before welcoming in Top 10-foe Alabama to close out the regular season in a three-game league set over May 1-3.

 

Selected Top Performances

Alabama’s Jaclyn Traina led the Crimson Tide to two wins over nationally ranked Georgia while tallying a 1.50 ERA and 17 strikeouts over 14 innings of work…Notre Dame’s Laura Winter was tabbed as the Atlantic Coast Conference Pitcher of the Week after recording a perfect 4-0 mark from the circle with a 0.65 ERA and 28 K’s over 21.2 innings, while also becoming the first Fighting Irish pitcher to reach the 1,000-strikeout milestone…Arizona’s Hallie Wilson, the Pac-12 Player of the Week, batted .533 (8-for-15) with 11 runs scored, a double, five HR’s and nine RBIs against a combination of New Mexico State and Utah…Oregon’s Cheridan Hawkins went 3-0, including a pair of wins at Stanford, with a 0.82 ERA and 21 K’s over 17 frames…Buffalo’s Sammi Gallardo hit at a .500 clip, slugging 1.286, blasting three HR’s and knocking in eight as the Bulls swept Western Michigan and Northern Illinois…Illinois State’s Regan Romshek earned Missouri Valley Conference Pitcher of the Week honors after going 3-0 with a save, a 1.17 ERA and three complete games over 24 innings…Syracuse’s Jasmine Watson batted .467 (7-for-15) with four HR’s and 11 RBIs on the way to reaping ACC Player of the Week honors…Arizona State’s Mackenzie Popescue earned Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week accolades after registering a 2-0 mark with a 0.00 ERA and a no-hitter against Southern Miss, improving her season mark to 20-1…Brittany Clendenny of Boston U. batted .556 (10-for-18) with four HR’s and nine RBIs against Rhode Island, Harvard and Lafayette…Oklahoma’s Shelby Pendley knocked in 11 runs while hitting .333 and slugging .800 in five wins over Central Arkansas, North Texas and UAB…Stanford’s Kayla Bonstrom batted .462 (6-for-13) overall for the week, including .500 (5-for-10) against No. 1 Oregon with three doubles…Conference USA Pitcher of the Week, Aimee Creger of Tulsa, struck out 20 over 12 innings and fired a no-hitter against Middle Tennessee in helping her squad to a 4-0 mark…Nebraska’s Tatum Edwards was named the Big Ten Conference’s Pitcher of the Week after going 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA and 11 strikeouts over 13 innings of work, while also batting .625 (5-for-8) with three extra-base hits and four RBIs against Michigan State…BYU’s Mercedes O’Connor, the West Coast Conference Player of the Week, hit .625 with three extra-base hits and seven RBIs…Omaha’s Dana Elsasser was selected as The Summit League Pitcher of the Week after going 3-0 with a trio of complete-game shutouts and 14 K’s, while also tossing her first career no-hitter…Fordham’s Elise Fortier knocked in 14 tallies and batted .444 with six runs scored and four HR’s to earn Atlantic-10 Conference Player of the Week…Longwood’s Elizabeth McCarthy was tabbed as the Big South Conference Pitcher of the Week after going 3-0 with a 0.00 ERA and 16 strikeouts with her biggest win coming via a 1-0 shutout of SEC foe South Carolina.

2014 Louisville Slugger Division I National Player of the Week
Feb. 11 – Griffin Joiner – Kentucky – Jr. – C – Hopkinsville, Ky.
Feb. 18 – Bryana Walker – Washington – Sr. – P – La Quinta, Calif.
Feb. 25 – Anna Miller (Co-) – USC Upstate – Sr. – P – Portland, Ore.
Ally Carda (Co-) – UCLA – Jr. – P/UTIL – Elk Grove, Calif.
March 4 – Lacey Waldrop – Florida State – Jr. – P – Chester, Va.
March 11 – Dallas Escobedo – Arizona State – Sr. – P – Glendale, Ariz.
March 18 – Sydney O’Hara – Syracuse – Fr. – P/OF/1B – Cicero, N.Y.
March 25 – Jaclyn Traina (Co-) – Alabama – Sr. – P/UTIL – Naples, Fla.
Sammy Marshall (Co-) – Western Illinois – Jr. – SS/OF – Naperville, Ill.
April 1 – Cheridan Hawkins – Oregon – So. – P – Anderson, Calif.
April 8 – Katiyana Mauga – Arizona – Fr. – 3B – San Diego, Calif.
April 15 – Michelle Mueller – Wisconsin – Sr. – IF – La Crosse, Wis.
April 22 – Stephanie Tofft – Florida – Sr. – 3B – Lincoln, Calif.
April 29 – Tori Finucane – Missouri – Fr. – P – Germantown, Md.