By Joe Scalzo
scalzo@vindy.com
YOUNGSTOWN
On Feb. 19, with 4,000 people in the stands and three more on the bases, YSU sophomore pitcher Kevin McCulloh stood on the mound at Clark-LeClair Stadium in Greenville, N.C., getting ready for the best moment of his Penguin career. (So far.)
The score was tied 0-0 in the bottom of the sixth with one out against East Carolina, a team that had hung 11 runs on the Penguins in their season opener the day before.
“The entire crowd was standing and cheering against me,” said McCulloh, a Boardman High graduate, “And I got a strikeout.
“That was really awesome.”
He got the next batter to ground into a fielder’s choice to end the inning and his outing.
“That was a pretty intense moment,” said McCulloh, whose team eventually lost 1-0 in the bottom of the ninth. “It was like a minor league-type atmosphere.”
After a rough outing against the College of Charleston — no surprise, considering the Cougars outscored the Penguins 35-3 in a three-game sweep — McCulloh pitched another gem on Sunday, holding Cincinnati to one run over six innings to pick up his (and YSU’s) first win of the season.
“I was coming off a tough one against Charleston and I was anxious to get back out there,” McCulloh said. “Right out of the gate, my slider was breaking abnormally and I just had to get the hang of it.
“I walked a couple guys and had some guys in scoring position, which you don’t really want to do, but I was able to get out of those for the most part.”
McCulloh (1-1, 2.70 ERA) has been a bright spot on a pitching staff that has a 9.04 ERA through nine games.
After splitting time between starting and playing shortstop for the Spartans, he spent most of his first collegiate season coming out of the bullpen, making a team-high 28 appearances, including two starts. He went 1-5 with a 4.96 ERA and was fourth on the team in innings pitched.
Coach Rich Pasquale made him a starter in the offseason, although McCulloh said he likes aspects of both roles.
“When you’re in the bullpen, you’re in almost every game, which is cool,” said McCulloh, who throws a fastball, slider, changeup and curveball. “With starting, it’s nice to get a routine down.”
McCulloh is one of six former Spartans on the team, joining sophomore pitcher Patrick O’Brien (who played at Bowling Green last year) and senior outfielders Joe Iacobucci and Armani Johnson (who spent one season at Oakland).
“It’s pretty interesting,” he said. “A couple guys went other places and came back home and it’s nice to play with those guys and some other guys from local places that I’ve known for awhile.”
While the Penguins haven’t been very successful so far this season, McCulloh said playing such good competition will help them once they start league play on March 25.
“Those first two series [against East Carolina and Charleston], those teams are as good as any teams we’re gonna face,” he said. “Charleston, especially. That lineup is one of the best I’ll ever see while I’m here.
“So being able to work through those starts and be relatively successful will help. Come league time, it’ll be like been there, done that.”
