Live Threads

Mizzou Links, 2-6-14: A recruiting-free zone

Some of you don't really care about recruiting. We're here for you!

By Bill Connelly@SBN_BillC Feb 6, 2014, 5:06am CST

About 95% of my Mizzou-themed links for today were about recruiting ... we'll share those in a post pretty soon, but because some of you are probably sick and tired of discussing that, here's your recruiting-free zone.

"They are two peas in a pod," freshman catcher Kirsten Mack said. "Outside of softball, they are inseparable. And inside of softball, they feed off each other."

The way Finucane and Stangel see it, they're in this together. Whichever pitcher winds up being labeled the ace doesn't matter much to them.

"We're actually rooting for each other," Stangel said.

Coach Ehren Earleywine, whose team opens the season Feb. 14 against Louisville in the Jacksonville, Fla., Tournament after its Black & Gold Game on Saturday at the Devine Pavilion, prefers not to define the pitchers as a No. 1 and No. 2. He sees it more as No. 1 and No. 1A.

Finucane projects as the No. 1. She should take the circle for the Friday and Sunday games of a Southeastern Conference series. Stangel should take the Saturday game.

Finucane, a right-hander, is a riseball pitcher with velocity in the upper-60 mph range. She has an effective changeup and sprinkles in a dropball. Stangel, a lefty, is a dropball pitcher with lower-60s velocity. She also has a riseball, changeup and a pair of curveballs.

Their styles are different enough that it can throw off Mack a little when she goes from catching one to the other.