Finucane Hard at Work
By Adam Chasen:
RESTON, VA - Several months ago I had the pleasure of interviewing and profiling a young superstar athlete name Tori Finucane. Tori had just finished her tremendous freshman high school softball season at Good Counsel High School, in which she earned WCAC player of the year honors. She has also been give so many awards and accolades it is almost impossible to name them all, but here are a few for starters: Washington Post First Team All-Met, Washington Post All-Area All-Stars, Montgomery County Player of the Year, All-Gazette Player of the Year, Good Counsel Varsity MVP, Nominee - Gatorade Player of the Year, and the most original accolade of them all ESPN Rise- The Avatar Award (for performance that lived up the hype.)
Tori has taken her pitching talents and built on them this summer, playing for her club team the national powerhouse Shamrocks. This past weekend I crossed the border in to Virginia to check out Tori and her 14 and under Shamrock team play in an 18 and under Virginia state tournament.
As I settled into a front row seat for the start of the Shamrock's 14U game on Saturday, two softball players from a different team in the tournament field sat right behind me. One of the girls immediately whispered to the other, "Who is that pitcher? Wow look at her warming up." The second softball player had clearly heard about Tori and replied, "I think that girl is my age 14, can you believe it?" I had to chuckle myself as I have become familiar with the shock value that follows around Tori. Whether it is her statistics that blow people away or the sight of her fastball, I have yet to meet anyone that is not impressed with her performances.
In the spring season and summer circuit combined, Tori has accumulated a record of 21-3, with 263 strikeouts in 143 innings. If that is not impressive enough toss in a Spring/Summer combined ERA of 0.34, and you can clearly see on paper why she is considered one of the best softball pitchers in the region and possibly in the country.
Statistics do not tell the whole story for this young flame-thrower. "T" as Tori is affectionately referred to by her teammates, has an intimidating presence on the mound. You would never think of Tori as intimidating when speaking to her one on one, but when she is on the diamond that is exactly how she appears. Her mound persona starts with her fastball that has regularly been clocked in the 66-67MPH range. She fires off her delivery with a shorter power step that looks as natural as breathing for the long limbed star. Her power though is not what really scares opposing batters. It is her fiery glare through her black sunglasses and fierce competiveness that is as intimidating as any Stephen Strasburg two-strike curveball.
Unfortunately on Saturday, Tori was only able to pitch three innings due to an elbow contusion suffered in a tournament the weekend prior. Tori has such a powerful delivery that when her arm whips through the zone to release one of her assortment of pitches, she often makes contact along her hip area which led to the contusion. Tori is expected to be just fine and will rest for a couple of weeks so that she is able to finish up her summer season on a strong note with the Shamrocks. Tori's team was able to finish the game with a tie against a formidable 18U squad without the full services of the team's ace pitcher. Tori, in obvious discomfort, led her team with encouragement from the bench throughout the game.
For a star so bright at such a young age, the biggest surprise about Tori is her humbleness. She handles herself like a professional and she is clearly comfortable as a vocal leader. With all of the outstanding intangibles to go along with her super talent I can't wait to see what Tori has in store for all of us next.
To follow Tori further and learn more about her Shamrock's club softball team you can visit the following website:
http://www.shamrocksoftball.org/index.html
