The John Crawford Volunteerism Award
Our friend, John Crawford addresses the team in 2012
Our second honoree of our 2023 John Crawford Volunteerism award is Gina Devenish. Gina becomes the first Renegade to be a repeat winner of this award as she continues to amaze us and take on new things she has never done before
The fun irony here is that John Crawford actually helped us at more than one World Series. He was with us in 2012 when he blew us away. In 2014, he made the drive from Awes, Iowa to Rochester, Minnesota for the 2014 World Series. He made that trip to help out the Iowa Reaper beepball team but he found time to sneak away to spend time with his favorite gang, the Renegades. During that World Series he worked the on deck circle for us during one of our greatest games we had played at that point, an almost upset of the Bayou City Heat. It was pure joy to see our friend John again and hand him the reigns of our on deck circle.
We had plans to hand the on deck circle reigns to John at the 2020 World Series as well. It was something we all wanted to do, to see our friend who was battling for his life. COVID took that away from us and then John lost his battle with Cancer in 2021. We are forever grateful to have met this man and we are honored to be able to remember him with these awards.
Getting back to the World Series, back in 2014, John was very impressed with how much better the Renegades were in 2014 than they were in 2012. But he knew at the time of his passing that we had become even better than those days. He knew the Renegades are all about improvement. Gina Devenish and her volunteerism represents that very same mantra. She just keeps improving and upping her game and value to the squad!
Last year, Gina wowed us all with what she did. You can read all about her accomplishments here
On the field in 2023, Gina continued to be a constant. She led all volunteers (other than the head coach), making 22 of the 24 practices. She also made an additional 4 practice sessions in the cage. Gina’s role in the first half of the year was calling. She was identified as the first caller to take the team to Indianapolis. She knew she needed to up her game. Heading into the season, Gina had 3 games experience as a caller but had never called in a game with the high powered offenses expected in Indy.
Upping her game as a Caller
Gina calls defensive drills with Shayne Cantan
Gina needed to up her game. She spent the spring, working on her craft seeing thousands of batted balls. She worked with Bryan and Ace to learn positioning, various calls, escape routes and how to be more efficient. Gina learned how to mark the fields and what information to collect during the games to give feedback to the defense. She worked to develop a relationship with Teigan Weissman so they could be in synch. A two caller system works best when each caller knows their role, knows when the other caller needs help, knows how to prevent double calls and knows how to help through various defensive shifts. Gina she got better, more confident and her teamwork with Teigan grew each practice. It grew to the point the tandem became known as “Tina”. She called in five games during the 2023 season and she did it against some of the best competition in the league.
Guy Zuccarello has this to say, “Gina is amazing! Her impact on the Renegades is immeasurable considering the number of roles she plays for us. A few years ago, when our roster of field spotters was thin, she volunteered to learn the position, and fill the need because that is just what she does. It has been awesome to watch her work hard to hone and develop her spotter skills. She has made huge strides and is a key piece of our spotter rotation now. This year, I had the privilege of spending a lot of time with her on the field, especially in our first tournament of the year in Indianapolis. She was awesome! Her consistency was incredible and she was able to make calls quickly which is so helpful. Also, no one works harder than she does. I remember a group of us receiving audio messages from her with different types of calls. She was trying out some different versions of calls that help describe a certain type of hit. Gina wanted feedback on which version we liked best and what would work for us to have success. She sent out those audio messages on her own time between practices so we could be as efficient as possible when we were on the field together. I feel this exemplifies how she constantly goes above and beyond for the team. I can’t thank her enough for her dedication, time, and passion for the Renegades!”
Taking ownership of the Home tournament
Where Gina really came out of nowhere was with our home tournament. Gina volunteered to be the point person to make sure everything was done for this weekend. She worked tirelessly to make sure the event was a success. She was involved in all facets of the weekend including, food, field setup, volunteer recruiting, working with the Lions as well as getting information to all the teams. Though on paper this seems like a small thing, in reality it’s countless hours of work. We had to supply volunteers, train them and get them to three different fields during four different time slots. Never before had Gina done this and the learning curve was quick as Gina’s can do attitude made the weekend a success. In the history of the Renegades, only two other people have taken on this much work. Gina showed her passion for this team and we are grateful!
Improvement is in the details
Gina is a godsend to this team because she does so many of the small things that needs to get done. She always is willing to pitch in to get tasks done. It starts in the offseason, when she gets 40 Renegades to update their personal information. She helped collect lunch orders in Indy and Philly for the whole team. At the Series, she led the charge to make sure we had food on the fields to keep the player’s energy up to compete all day long. Additionally, she drove on every trip this year and is always willing to do what the team needs when we have sudden last minute needs. Gina is amazing.
Shayne Cantan says, “Gina is miss reliable, you need something?, she’s there, besides babysitting Shawn and the rest of us children, she jumps in and contributes. In a world where people like to complain about how something is not going right, Gina takes initiative to make things work. Gina is a superhero, defensive caller, broadcaster, catcher, name it and Gina has probably worn that hat at some point. Thank you for all you do and continue to do.”
Upping her game as a play by play voice
On the field, Gina made a concerted effort to learn how to score a game. Every tournament, she got better at this role. She was able to take this information to help her make the live feeds better as well. Anyone watching the games on line, knows Gina really upped her game on the live stream and improved her play calling to give viewers at home a more clear picture of what was happening. She made huge leaps and strides in these areas and we are thankful and proud of her growth as a broadcaster.
Tyler Mireault has this to say, “I joined the Renegades around halfway through the season last year. I wasn’t able to make it to the World Series in 2023, however through Gina’s hard work posting live streams for each game I was able to tune in and support the team during their great run. Her play by play was great for me as it helped me understand the game while making me feel like I was right on the field with the team even from across the country. Gina was extremely welcoming for me and my family as we really enjoyed our time with the team and look forward to being a part of this great group going forward.”
When an outsider looks at the Renegades, it’s easy to see how they are coached. It’s easy to see the quality of the pitching and how well our defensive callers work with the players. What is not quickly apparent is the attention to detail and all of the little things the team does. Gina is behind so many of these little details. Bottom line, she makes this team better! Jason Lenicheck sums it up with one short sentence, “Thank god for Gina, she is amazing”
Other Award Winners
2022 marked the inaugural season for this award. To learn more about the contributions of these four amazing volunteers, please check out the links below:
2023 Award Winners