Saskatoon product powered Canada to golden comeback
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| Devon McCullough in 2015. (Photo by Louis Christ) |
Gordie Howe Sports Complex
Devon McCullough wasn’t walking into an
enviable situation, when he entered the championship game of the 2015 International
Softball Federation Men’s World Championship tournament.
Playing in front of his hometown fans at
Bob Van Impe Stadium, McCullough entered the contest to pitch relief for Canada
in the top of the third inning against powerhouse and defending champion New
Zealand.
New Zealand had just taken a 4-0 lead with
one out and had a runner on second.
Despite the tough circumstances, McCullough
remembered the 7,000 in attendance that night hadn’t given up on the Canadian
side.
“The crowd was going
nuts, and it was loud,” said McCullough, who was the youngest player on
Canada’s roster at age 24 at that time. “It was pretty much the biggest moment
I’ve been in I figure in my life especially up until then.
“I was definitely a
little nervous going in, but I was also excited at the same time.”
McCullough’s first task was to stop New
Zealand from potential running away with the game at that point. He got the
first batter out he faced on a groundout.
He proceeded to hit the next batter he
faced with a pitch. Following that development, the Canadian coaching staff
elected to load the bases by intentionally walking the next batter.
After loading the bases, McCullough walked
the next batter he faced allowing New Zealand to go up 5-0.
He proceeded to stop the New Zealand rally
at that point with a strike out to end the top half of the inning. McCullough
said getting that strikeout to strand three runners on base proved to be key to
help his side start to get some traction.
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| Devon McCullough (#24) fires a pitch. (Photo by Jordan Silbernagel) |
“The game could have
been done right there.”
Canada’s offence proceeded to come to life
after that. The Canadians scored four runs in the bottom of the third to cut
New Zealand’s lead to 5-4 changing the complexion of the contest.
McCullough pitched a scoreless top of the
fourth, and in the bottom of the fourth, Canada scored four more runs to go
ahead 8-5. The younger chucker said the excitement rose for the host country as
momentum had totally changed sides.
“The whole atmosphere
in the dugout had changed,” said McCullough. “Everyone was standing up and
loud.
“I think we pretty
much knew by that point that we weren’t going to be stopped that day. We were
just on a roll.”
Canada scored two more
runs in the bottom of the sixth to cement a 10-5 victory.
McCullough pitched the
rest of the contest to pick up the win striking out eight batters while
scattering one hit and five walks over four-and-two-thirds innings. Throughout
the game, he heard chants of “Devo” coming from the crowd.
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| Devon McCullough was the hero. (Photo by Jordan Silbernagel) |
“It was like a shock
almost,” said McCullough. “It was like, ‘Holy (explanative) we just won.’
“It was pretty much
just yard sale everything.”
Since age 13,
McCullough played numerous games at Bob Van Impe Stadium leading up to that
world championship win. He has continued to play many more games at his
hometown park and remains a member of the national team at age 29.
He has played at two
world tournaments win Canada since earning bronze medals each time out.
While McCullough would
love to help Canada win another world championship, he doesn’t expect anything
will surpass winning it all representing his country in his hometown. When you
add in the fact he was winning pitcher that helped turn around a dire
situation, it becomes a fairy-tale script.
“It was awesome,” said
McCullough. “I’ve told everyone that it doesn’t matter whether I go out and
play and win anything else in ball, but nothing will ever top that.
“That is the number
one thing that you probably would ever want as any ball player would want.”
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| An artistic picture of Devon McCullough. (Photo by Jordan Silbernagel) |
“I see them in the
beer tent just stopping for a beer,” said McCullough. “You are just talking
about it like all the time.
“It is pretty special
that is for sure. No one can ever take that one away from you winning the world
championship at home. It is pretty awesome to think about.
“That was a pretty
awesome day.”
