No one is more surprised about Nate McCollough's success as a relief pitcher than Nate McCollough.

McCollough, a 5-foot-10, 185-pound right-hander, has been sensational as a closer for La Roche College the past two years, as well as with the Pittsburgh Pandas, the defending Amateur Baseball Federation College Division (ages 22 and under) national champions.

The funny thing is, until he came to La Roche two years ago from Butler County Community College, McCollough hadn't pitched on any sort of regular basis since PONY League.

Probably the last thing he was expecting was to end up his senior season at La Roche this past spring with a 3-1 record, 29 strikeouts in 27 innings, a 2.00 ERA and tied for the conference lead in saves with seven.

McCollough has been even better for his summer league team -- the Pandas, who play their home games at La Roche in McCandless. After 19 games, he owned a 3-0 record with three saves and a 0.00 ERA. In 12¹/₃ innings, he'd allowed no earned runs and just one hit with 10 strikeouts, helping the Pandas to a 16-3 record and first place in the North Division of the 12-team wooden bat Tri-State Collegiate League

"As a closer, you put him into the game and it's over," said Frank Gilbert, the Pandas' general manager.

"Nate throws sidearm and it usually takes batters a while to get used to it."

And a lot of times they never do get used to the different angle of delivery.

McCollough was one of the keys when the Pandas captured a national championship last summer.

In the playoffs, he went 4-0 with two saves and a 1.65 ERA and was named Most Valuable Player at the 16-team National Amateur Baseball Federation World Series in Toledo, Ohio.

He picked up one of his wins, making a rare start and tossing 8¹/₃ innings.

Being named MVP was a big honor for McCollough, considering he was playing at a Division III college and many in the tournament were Division I players.

"A lot of those kids playing at Division I schools don't have half Nate's heart," said Gilbert. "Nothing bothers him.

"He has the perfect mentality for his role."

McCollough was a shortstop at Karns City High School -- just north of Butler. He also played the field at Butler County Community College.

He also started two seasons at second base for La Roche, hitting a solid .331 (47 for 142) this past season, helping the Redhawks compile a 25-17 mark.

He tried relief pitching at the suggestion of Rich Pasquale, who was the head coach at La Roche last year before Chase Rowe took over this year.

"When I came to La Roche, pitching never crossed my mind at all," said McCollough. "It's all been a little surprising. At the same time, I've put a lot of hard work into it the last couple years to get where I am."

McCollough throws a fastball in the mid 80-mile-per-hour range, a slider and a splitter.

An elementary education major who will do his student teaching in the fall, McCollough will no doubt be missed at La Roche.

"With him around, pretty much if we got a lead, it was held," said Rowe, who helped lead the Redhawks to the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference finals in his first season. "We would not have done what we did this year without him."

McCollough, who plays second base on a part-time basis during the summer, has also proven an invaluable commodity with the Pandas.

And come playoff time at the end of this month, he'll have a very tough act to follow.

After all, being MVP on a national champion is usually a once-in-a-lifetime deal.

"The pile on in the middle of the field after we won the World Series last summer was one of the greatest moments in my life," said McCollough. "That was awesome."