After finishing third in NCAA Division III with 11 saves for LaRoche College this past spring, Nate McCollough did not plan on extending his baseball season.

But he's glad he did.

The Karns City graduate wound up being the closer for the Pittsburgh Pandas this summer and was voted Most Valuable Player of the National Amateur Baseball Federation's (NABF)College Division World Series recently.

McCollough had two wins and a save in the Series, a 16-team event played at Ned Skeldon Stadium in Toledo, Ohio.

"I wasn't even planning on playing this summer, but two of my LaRoche teammates play for the Pandas and told me the team needed a closer,"McCollough said. "He said they had no one for that role, so I decided to try it."

The Pandas are in their sixth year of operation and their second year in the Tri-State Collegiate League, which is affiliated with the NABF.

Last year, the Panthers reached the NABFchampionship game, only to lose to the Michigan Bulls.

"Iheard all about that team and I wanted to help the returning players get another shot (at the championship)," McCollough said.

A middle infielder by trade, McCollough hit .280 for LaRoche last spring and began messing around with a sidearm pitching delivery. He quickly developed into one of Division III's premier closers.

That success carried over to summer ball as McCollough's overall pitching numbers included six wins, six saves and a 1.65 earned run average.

The only runs he permitted all summer were in the national semifinal game against Vermilion, when he made his only start of the season.

"We were short on pitching and we asked Nate if he could give us five innings or so," Pandas general manager Frank Gilbert said. "He wound up throwing a gem."

McCollough wound up allowing one hit through eight innings before tiring in the ninth. He was pulled with one out in the final frame and was charged with three earned runs allowed in the Pandas' 5-4 victory.

He threw 103 pitches in the contest.

"My side-arm style is tough on right-handed hitters and that (Vermilion) team had a lot of righties,"McCollough said. "I had five strikeouts, but I was conscious of conserving pitches so I could stay out there a lot longer."

"He wanted to finish the game,"Gilbert said. "Nate is a competitor. He has the perfect make-up to be a closer."

The Pandas went on to defeat the Long Island (NY)Astros, 9-3, in the championship game.

McCollough got the win in relief in his team's quarterfinal matchup with defending champion Michigan. He pitched a scoreless ninth, then watched his teammates score two runs in the bottom of the inning for a 4-3 victory.

Overall, the Pandas were 40-4 this season. Slippery Rock University second baseman and Grove City High School graduate Billy Herman was on the squad as well, hitting .380 with a team-leading 28 RBI.

"Billy was a jack of all trades for us," Gilbert said. "He played second base, third base, even played 20 games at first base, a position he had never played before."

Herman joined the Pandas at the recommendation of a former SRU teammate who is now an assistant coach on the Pittsburgh squad.

"It was fun and I'm glad I was able to be a team guy and help out,"Herman said. "I haven't decided where I'm going to play next summer yet.

"Usually, summer teams are pretty relaxed. But with this team, everybody wanted to be there, everybody wanted to win and everybody wanted to get better."

The Pandas lost their first game of round-robin play at nationals, 10-0 to Crystal Lake, Ill. They won five consecutive games after that for the title.

Herman will be a sophomore at SRUnext season. McCollough is entering his senior year at LaRoche.

Gilbert is hopeful both return to the Pandas next summer.

"We'd love to have them,"he said. "Nate has a solid shot at being a closer at the next level. If he opts to pursue that, we may get him back."