By Harry Minium
I have long thought that Marshall University's athletic department was a class act, from administrators and coaches down to the student managers. And that proved to be true last week when the Old Dominion University's baseball team bused into Huntington, West Virginia to play four games in three days.
ODU coach Chris Finwood recently lost his wife, Annette Finwood, to pancreatic cancer. When Marshall took the field, the players did so in purple socks and with purple arm bands.
Finwood teared up when he saw all the purple. We all know that pink is worn by those fighting against or who have survived breast cancer. You may not know that purple is the color pancreatic cancer survivors wear during events to raise money or awareness of the disease.
Marshall's baseball Twitter account posted the following:
More than a game ??
— Marshall Baseball (@HerdBaseball) April 2, 2021
We stand with you, @ODUBaseball head coach @CoachFinny5 and wear purple this weekend in the fight against pancreatic cancer, in remembrance of Annette Finwood. pic.twitter.com/Lfw4BeD70A
"Marshall really made a nice gesture," Finwood said. "I think most people know about Annette's passing. It's been a hard time personally for me and my family.
"I really appreciate what they did."
Finwood is a private guy and had not previously spoken about Annette publicly. He made the comments on a podcast called Extra Innings hosted on the odusports.com website by Assistant Director of Athletic Communications Rebecca Gaona.
I wrote a story last week (click here to read) about Finwood that focused on his love of books, especially those on stoic philosophy, history and historical fiction.
Shortly before the first game with Marshall began, Finwood shared the following quote from Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius, which he read out loud when asked by Rebecca to do so.
"Make sure you're not made 'Emperor,' avoid that imperial stain. It can happen to you, so keep yourself simple, good, pure, saintly, plain, a friend of justice, god-fearing, gracious, affectionate, and strong for your proper work. Fight to remain the person that philosophy wished to make you. Revere the gods and look after each other. Life is short— the fruit of this life is a good character and acts for the common good."
ODU then went out and swept four games against Marshall to advance its record to 21-5. ODU is ranked 33rd in the NCAA Baseball RPI and is garnering votes in the various Top 25 polls.
Finny, as friends call him, said the thought that Marcus Aurelius jotted down 18 centuries ago applies to the ODU baseball team.
"It speaks to the question of what are we living for. It talked about are we living for the clapping of hands? No. The patting on the backs? No. Just live to be a good person.
"I reminded the guys that you're going to get some people telling you how good you are now because you've gotten off to a good start.
"Those same people are going to be bashing you when you lose. That's just the way it is."
ODU has indeed won a ton of close games and has done so with a combination of good pitching, fielding and offense. ODU's pitchers are a combined 56th nationally with a 3.80 ERA with Hunter Gregory 49th with a 1.82 ERA.
ODU also ranks 33rd nationally with a .977 fielding percentage.
Carter Trice is one of the nation's best freshmen
But the Monarchs have reigned with their powerful bats, especially freshman Carter Trice, who is tied for 14th nationally with nine home runs, 22nd with 32 RBIs and 20th with 40 hits. Trice is ranked seventh by Baseball America among the nation's top freshmen.
ODU's .306 batting average is ninth and .808 winning percentage eighth. And ODU is the nation's co-leader with 50 home runs, tied with Arkansas.
"We've got a really close group," Finwood said. "Look at the scores. We've won a number of close games, a lot of them. We lost a couple early and seems like we've won every game since."
ODU began its current hot streak with a 6-5 victory at nationally ranked East Carolina on March 3, in which Trice, Kyle Battle and Andrea Dalatri all homered. ODU has gone 16-3 during that streak, claiming six one-run victories, including an 8-7 win in the second game against Marshall.
"You don't get that if the guys don't care for each other," Finny said. "It seems like a different guy each night picking up for each other. It's not just one guy.
"We never panic when it gets tough. They're enjoying the competition and the grind and the fight. Being 21-5 to start a season is hard, man. People don't realize how hard that is and most of those games weren't easy.
"A lot of the scores that ended up lopsided became that way because we kept playing.
"And that says a lot about how much these guys want to win and compete and play. That's fun to watch from a coach. All you're asking is for their best effort mentally and that they care about each other and root for each other."
Finny said his players and coaches and others at ODU have been a great comfort since Annette died. As you would expect, he is most concerned about his son, Grey, and daughter, Riley.
"My heart is broken for them," he said.
It is difficult to fathom what they are going through, but comforting to know that Monarch Nation, with an assist from Marshall, have reached out to the family.
Finny walked over to the Marshall dugout last weekend to thank players and coaches.
"It was heartwarming for me," he said. "I told the guys how much that meant for me that they did that.
"I want to thank them again."
Contact Minium: hminium@odu.edu