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Jennie Finch says goodbye to international softball

Jennie Finch played her final game as a member of Team USA on Monday, helping the United States defeat Japan 5-1 and win the 2010 World Cup of Softball.

A dominant player on the field and an icon of women’s sports off, Finch will be missed the next time the Women’s National Team is in competition. But she won’t disappear completely.

From the Associated Press:

Finch done playing, but not finished with softball

OKLAHOMA CITY — Pausing one last time to smile and wave to the crowd, Jennie Finch walked away from the sport she helped to spread around the world.

With one final championship to add to her sparkling resume, Finch retired from international softball Monday night following the United States’ 5-1 victory against Japan in the championship game of the World Cup of Softball.

As Finch placed her cleats at home plate in a gesture symbolic of her retirement, she left a set of shoes no one may ever fill in the same way in the softball world.

Beyond being one of the game’s most dominant pitchers, the blonde beauty has become recognizable even to those who didn’t follow softball — attracting attention to the sport at a time when it is desperately needed. Softball has been dropped from the Olympics for the 2012 and 2016 Olympics, drying up one primary means for funding the sport around the world and taking away its main platform to spread the game.

But while Finch doesn’t plan to play for Team USA ever again, she isn’t leaving the sport in the lurch. Through her own camps and whatever ambassador role she can fill, she plans to campaign to get softball back on the Olympic program — whether that’s in 2020 or beyond.

You can read the entire story here.

Related: Shop our selection of Jennie Finch softball gear.

Jennie Finch announces her retirement

Her career spanned a decade. Along the way, Jennie Finch amassed a king’s ransom of MVP trophies, medals, championships and other hardware.

Finch won gold in Athens and silver in Beijing. She is a three-time World Cup Champion, three time World Champion and a two-time Pan American Champion. She is a two-time Honda Award winner — given to the top player in college softball — and the reigning USA Softball player of the year.

On Tuesday, Finch announced that her next tournament will be her last.

The 29-year-old softball phenom will retire at the conclusion of the 2010 KFC World Cup of Softball, which begins this Thursday in Oklahoma City. The tournament will be broadcast live on the ESPN family of networks.

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Finch, hailed by Time magazine as the most famous softball player in history, will cap off a stellar career. The three-time All-American re-wrote recordbooks at Arizona, putting together a thus-far untouchable 60-game win streak in the circle. She joined the US Women’s National Team at 19, and she went on to help Team USA win a laundry list of tournaments.

At the media day for the 2010 World Cup of Softball, Finch said she plans to stay involved in the sport off the field. But she’s hanging up her cleats for good.

“Hopefully I will continue to be involved with the development of the sport in some way — just not in uniform,” she said. “USA Softball will always be part of me and I plan to work in proving more opportunities in the future.”

Related: Browse our selection of Jennie Finch softball equipment.

Austin softball fans: Pro softball will be in your neighborhood this summer

Big news for softball fans in the Lone Star State: Jennie Finch and Co. will be in your area this summer.

The Dell Diamond in Round Rock is set to host a five-game series between the Chicago Bandits and the USSSA Florida Pride on Aug. 12-15. The NPF announced the series on Tuesday.

Texans will get a chance to see some of the best athletes in softball. Alongside Finch, Olympians like Monica Abbott, Caitlin Lowe, Jessica Mendoza, Lauren Lappin and Natasha Watley will also be in action.

Here are the details:

The teams will play five games in the four-day period with single games at 7 p.m. CDT Thursday, Aug. 12, and Friday, Aug. 13, a doubleheader at 6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 14, and a single game at 2 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 15.

Reserved tickets are $10 per game with general admission tickets for $5 per game. Express full-season and Friday Fireworks ticket holders have first opportunity to purchase their seats for the event April 20-30. Tickets go on sale to the general public May 1. Regular Express discounts apply for seniors, military and kids. Groups of 20 or more also receive a discounted rate.

There will also be a youth softball clinic, featuring members of the Chicago Bandits, held that week.

Related: Browse our selection of Jennie Finch softball gear.