By the numbers with Jennie Finch
Chicago Bandits fans and softball followers will get one more look at superstar Jennie Finch this weekend as she leads her team in its final home series of the regular season beginning Thursday. Finch and the Bandits will take on the Tennessee Diamonds in five games with a doubleheader on Saturday and a finale on Sunday at the Judson University Sports Complex in Elgin. For tickets, call (877) 722-6348.
Here's a by-the-numbers look at some milestones in her life before she retires from professional softball at age 29:
4: The age of son Ace, one of the reasons she cites for retirement
5: Jennie's age when she first started playing t-ball in California
8: The number of high school varsity letters she won at La Mirada High School (4 in softball and 2 apiece in basketball and volleyball)
12: Her age when she won her first national title, the ASA 12U championship
14: Her team wins the ASA 14U championship
17: Age she helps her team win the ASA 18U title
27: Her iconic jersey number, which sells for $100-plus (autographed) on eBay
34: Number of wins in her 5 years with the Chicago Bandits
50: Number of wins as a high school pitcher, which included 6 perfect games and 13 no-hitters and an ERA of 0.15 with 784 strikeouts
60: Wins in a row while pitching for the University of Arizona; she still holds the NCAA record
367: Number of strikeouts in her Bandits career
2000: Year she went 29-2 as a sophomore for Arizona, and led them in home runs (16) with a .327 batting average; she had three consecutive no-hitters that season
2001: Led Arizona to the NCAA championship that year with a perfect 32-0 record in the circle
2002: Helps the U.S. Team win the Women's World Softball Championship, with more titles to come
2004: Led Team USA to the gold medal at the Athens Olympics, and team is called "greatest of all time" by Sports Illustrated
2008: Helps USA to a silver medal in the Beijing Olympics after Olympics officials drop the sport for the 2012 games.
2010: Retires from professional and international softball after leading USA to another World Softball Championship.