Biography of Jennie Finch

Jennie Finch will be among those competing on this season’s “Celebrity Apprentice.” You may remember her as a pitcher for the female softball team that won the gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics.

Jennie was born in La Mirada, California on September 3, 1980. Softball is something she has played almost all her life – she began when she was only five years old. She started pitching when she was eight, with her dad serving as her coach. Jennie was named to the All-CIF Division II for three years, the Whittier Daily News All-Area for three years, the Long Beach Press-Telegram Softball Dream Team her final two years, and also the All-Suburban League for all four years of high school. The La Mirada High school softball team was the Suburban League Champions all four years Jennie played.

She was named the La Mirada Female Athlete of the Year in 1998. In her four-year high school softball career, she posted a record of 50 wins and 12 losses, with four saves, six perfect games, 13 no-hitters, and 14 one-hitters. In 445 innings, she struck out 784 batters. She was chosen by Jump Magazine as the #1 high school recruit.

Not only did she letter all four years of high school in softball, but she also lettered two years in basketball and volleyball. In her senior year, she captained the teams for softball, basketball, and volleyball.

Jennie attended the University of Arizona, where she was named a three time All-American pitcher. She won the highest honor for best softball player, the Honda Award, in 2001 and 2002. She holds the NCAA record for consecutive wins with 60 in a row. In her freshman and sophomore years, she was named the NCAA Regional Most Outstanding Player. She was a First-Team All-Pac-10 member three years and was named the Pac-10 Pitcher of the Year her junior and senior years. In 2001, she helped her team win the NCAA Women’s College World Series. That same year, she established an NCAA record for a 32-0 pitching season.

When not pitching, Jennie served as a first baseman or designated player. She recorded a batting average of .309, with three grand slams and 11 home runs. Her jersey number, #27, was retired by the university in 2003 at a ceremony in Hillenbrand Stadium. Jennie received a degree in communications from the university.

Jennie had a record of 2-0 at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. She struck out 13 batters in eight innings while giving up only one hit, one walk, and no runs to help lead her team to a gold medal.

“Celebrity Apprentice” will not be Jennie’s first brush with reality television. She appeared on season one of “Pros vs. Joes” on Spike TV in 2006. She has appeared on many talk shows including “Late Show with David Letterman,” Last Call with Carson Daly,” “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” and “The Tony Danza Show.” Jennie also appeared in the 2005-06 Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue.

On January 15, 2005, Jennie married Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Casey Daigle. The couple welcomed their first son, Ace Shane, on May 4, 2006.

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