April 9, 2008
Becky McCullough has been able to a very stellar pitcher, and contributed in the field, as well. She has a 42-22 pitching record over the past four-years, with only 1 win coming this year. Her best offensive output came during her freshman year, hitting .216, and earning All-Pac 10 honorable mention.
McCullough started her softball career at Campolindo High School, in Moraga, California. She was a four-year letter winner in softball and captained her softball teams during her junior and senior years. She was a All-CIF first-team selection and was an All-Eastbay selection. She was named the Contra Costa Times Top 5 Region Athlete and was a four-time Diablo Foothill Athletic League MVP.
"High School softball was not that competitive, as the tournament competitions and travel ball," said McCullough. "So, it was just fun. It was a great experience, though, and I helped some kids out that weren't that serious about softball. I just had a good time playing the game."
She also competed in cross country and soccer in high school. She competed in those two sports during her freshman and sophomore years. She was a two-year letter winner in cross country and soccer.
"I played those my first two-years," said McCullough. "And I loved them. My junior year, I just decided to focus on softball, because it was starting the recruiting time. But, running around in those two sports was one of my favorite things to do."
During the recruiting process, she said she received several offers. She said she had several scholarship offers to selection from; however, her top three schools were Princeton, Notre Dame and Stanford. She would choose to continue her education and her softball career at Stanford.
"It's somewhere that I grew up wanting to go to," said McCullough. "And it's hard to turn down a place with such great academics. And it's such a great softball program. It's unparalleled to other schools."
As a freshman, she appeared in 39 games, with 32 games coming in the starting lineup, as a pitcher. She had a 21-8 overall record, with a 1.83ERA, and struck out 141 batters in 206.1 innings. She pitched 19 complete games and had three shutouts. She pitched a hitless inning in her first college game against Santa Clara, and was named All-Pac 10 honorable mention.
In the field, she appeared in 23 games, with 20 games coming in the starting lineup. She had a .216 batting average in 51 at-bats, with 11 hits, including 2 doubles and 2 home runs. She also had 5 runs and 9 RBI's, while she 5 walks and 14 strikeouts.
"Freshman year was just fun," said McCullough of her All-Pac 10 honorable mention selection. "That was a long time ago now. We had a very good team that year, and everything was kind of new and exciting. So, it was fun playing out in the Pac-10 Conference my first-year."
As a sophomore, she appeared in 26 games, with 23 games coming in the startling lineup, as a pitcher. She had a 10-6 overall record, with a 2.45 ERA, and struck out 73 batters in 102.2 innings. She had 8 complete games and had 1 save. She struck out a season-high 9 batters against New Mexico, and struck out 6 batters and allowed just two hits in 6 innings in the Stanford Invitational Championship against Santa Clara.
In the field, she appeared in 14 games, with 12 games coming in the starting lineup. She had a .185 batting average in 27 at-bats, with 5 hits. She also had 1 run, 2 RBI's, 3 walks, and 8 strikeouts.
"Becky is a fiery competitor," said Stanford softball coach John Rittman of McCullough's 23 starts. "She's got a great work ethic, and she's batted through some injuries through her career. And she's somebody who has been a huge plus for our team."
Last year, as a junior, she appeared in 24 games, with 16 games coming in the starting lineup, as a pitcher. She had 10 wins, with a 3.73 ERA, and struck out 74 batters in 118.1 innings. She had shutouts against Sacramento State and Loyola-Chicago in the Stanford Classic. She was responsible for Stanford's two-biggest upsets against No. 11 Washington and No. 4 Arizona.
In the fiend, she appeared in 6 games, with 5 games coming in the starting lineup. She had a .111 batting average in 9 at-bats, with 1 hits, a double. She also had 1 walk and 2 strikeouts.
"Becky's a very smart pitcher," said Coach Rittman of McCullough's 74 strikeouts in 118.1 innings. "She mixes speeds and can throw a variety of pitches, so that helps her keep batters off balance."
This season, she has appeared in 4 games, with 0 games coming in the starting lineup, as a pitcher. She has a 1-0 record, with a 1.17 ERA, and struck out 5 batters in 6.0 innings. She has a .261 opponents batting average in 23 at-bats, giving up 6 hits and 1 double. She has allowed 2 runs, one earned run, while allowing one walk.
In the field, she has appeared in 5 games, with 0 games coming in the starting lineup. She has a .000 batting average, and has not registered an at-bat or a hit. She has 3 assists.
"Individually, I want to do whatever it takes to give the team wins," said McCullough. "And the important part, at the end of the game is that our team is winning. That is the only thing that matters."
She is majoring in earth systems and political science at Stanford. She said she choose earth systems because it's like environmental science, and added, she likes it, because it's very interdisciplinary. She said it's gotten her to take classes on a whole bunch of different classes. She said environmental topics are a pretty hot topic these days. She said this year, she just decided to add political science, because she would like to go into law, and it's something that has always interested her.
After graduation, she is hoping to start working in a law firm for two-years in (Washington) D.C. She has a job interview with the Washington, D. C. law firm next week, and is hoping that she gets the job. And she would like to go to law school after school.
"Becky will do outstanding," said Coach Rittman. "She's a great leader, and she's very smart. She's got a very good work ethic that will help her out in her future. She'll do wonderful things."