P.J. Finigan 11 |
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05/21/2012
SIU will play either Missouri State or Bradley on Wednesday in the second round of the double-elimination tournament.
05/21/2012
The camp will run from June 11-14 at Abe Martin Field.
05/16/2012
This weekend SIU will find out its seed for next week's MVC Tournament.
05/14/2012
SIU has won eight of its last 10 against the Billikens.
04/23/2012
The junior tossed a nine-inning, complete game, five-hit shutout on Saturday against Creighton.
Last updated on Dec. 3, 2012
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One of the best players in program history, P.J. Finigan enters his third season as pitching coach for SIU.
An infielder/pitcher for the Salukis from 2002-05, Finigan was the 2005 Joe Carter Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year. He helped the Salukis to three 30-win seasons before he spent four seasons in the Detroit Tigers organization.
In Finigan's second year as pitching coach, three Saluki pitchers earned All-Missouri Valley Conference honors as Todd Eaton, Cody Forsythe and Cameron Maldonado each earned a spot on the second team. Eaton was also a member of the MVC's All-Tournament team as the Salukis advanced to the championship game.
The 2012 squad issued the second fewest walks among Valley schools in conference games, a total of 58 walks and an average of fewer than three per nine innings. In addition, the Salukis' staff struck out 409 batters, the highest SIU total since 2005 and the third most in school history.
Finigan has been instrumental in the development of lefty Cody Forsythe, who has earned All-Conference honors in each of the last two years. Forsythe has posted a 9-4 record and a 1.54 ERA in 14 conference starts over the past two seasons.
In 2011, his first season as pitching coach, Finigan's impact was felt immediately. Working with just one senior and 10 freshmen or sophomores on the 11-man pitching staff, which was the third smallest in the nation, Finigan held the unit together and saw the staff lower its ERA from 6.62 in 2010 to 4.53 in his first season.
In Finigan's first season as pitching coach, the Salukis issued 173 walks, the lowest total in the Missouri Valley Conference and the lowest total by an SIU team since 2007. The Salukis also recorded 14 saves, the third most in school history, despite season-ending injuries to key relievers. Tyler Dray stepped into the closer's role and was named a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American, an award that Finigan won in 2002.
Prior to returning to his alma mater, Finigan spent four seasons in the Detroit Tigers organization. Following his senior season at SIU, he was selected by the Tigers in the seventh round (210th overall) in the 2005 draft. Finigan was the first pitcher of his draft class to reach double-A, doing so in 2006. He remained there until 2007, when he went on the disabled list for two seasons. Injuries to his elbow and three surgeries, including two Tommy John surgeries, forced him to retire from playing.
Finigan had a monster senior season at the plate for Southern in 2005, leading the MVC with a .386 batting average. He had 48 RBIs, four triples and six home runs that year.
However, he did his real damage on the mound. He posted a 9-3 record with a 3.24 ERA. Finigan's four complete games that year are the second most by a Saluki since 1991. That season he also struck out 107 batters in 105 innings pitched and finished his career with a 12-5 record. He played in 218 games, the fifth-most by a Saluki in program history.
Finigan also ranks fourth at SIU in career at-bats (837), sixth in doubles (47) seventh in hits (251) and triples (13) and ninth in RBI (135).
A Springfield native, Finigan and his wife, Courtney, were married in the fall of 2010. They currently reside in Energy, Ill.
