Shortstop Tommy Finn won 11 varsity letters in baseball, basketball and football at Andrean High School. He was the runner-up for Mr. Football and Mr. Baseball in Indiana last year.
But halfway into his senior year, Finn wasn’t even sure he wanted to play a sport in college.
He said baseball season turned him around.
“I just got pretty burned out. I played three sports in high school and it caught up to me a little bit,” he said. “But I guess everyone goes through that and I’m glad that it got knocked back into me, because I’m having a great time right now.”
The freshman has been plugged into the position vacated by the graduation of last year’s shortstop, Jon Mikrut, and has started all but one game for Northwestern (12-19, 9-3 Big Ten).
Finn said that NU’s Tuesday opponent Valparaiso were the only serious contenders for his services coming out of high school and it was tough to choose between them.
The fact that his brother played for the Crusaders from 1995-98 and Finn grew up 15 minutes away from the Valparaiso campus made the decision to leave even tougher.
“They’re in the paper everyday, ” he said. “They’re pretty much the only college around.”
After coming to NU, Finn had to adjust to the college game immediately as coach Paul Stevens started him in the Feb. 10 opener against South Florida.
He had his troubles at the beginning of the season, including a three-error game against Kentucky.
“Things just happen so much quicker and you’ve always got to be a step ahead,” he said. “I had to learn quickly that you have to be quick with the ball and you have to be constantly moving. There’s no time to think.”
Second baseman Jake Owens said he can see progress.
“He was thrown into the mix right away,” he said. “At first, he went through some bumps along the road, but since we’ve got to Big Ten play, he’s done just solid. Our pitchers have a lot more confidence in rolling double play balls for us.”
Finn also struggled from the plate to begin the season, hitting .182 in his first seven games.
Even though he has raised his average to .224, Finn said he wants to improve his consistency at the plate.
“I’m batting in the ninth spot, and it’s frustrating because all you see is fastballs and it’s like, ‘OK, it should be easy,’ ” Finn said. “At the end of the day, you’re like, ‘I went 0-for-3 and I saw eight fastballs. Why can’t you push across a hit here or there?’
But that’ll come. At the beginning of the year, that same fastball looked a lot faster.”
He is hitting .364 in the last six games and has only two errors.
Finn, who was the captain of his high school football and baseball teams, also is becoming more comfortable taking a leadership position.
“You could tell he was a little hesitant to talk to other players and try to give them instructions because he’s young,” Owens said. “Recently, his leadership skills have taken over. He’s not afraid to get in someone’s face and tell them what they need to be doing.”
As the Wildcats head into the second half of their conference schedule, they will be looking to Finn and his classmates to continue maturing.
Owens said he thinks Finn is well ahead of the curve.
“It’s gotten to the point where he’s a smart enough ballplayer that he even reminds me about stuff sometimes,” he said. “At first, I had to teach him some things, and now he’s actually teaching me some things, too. That’s why we’re working so well together right now.”
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