When Mike Murphy graduates this spring, he'll do more than leave a hole at the hot corner. He'll have completely rewritten the Misericordia record book.

 

Arguably the most productive player in school history, Murphy was a slow starter in the Cougars' system. In his freshman and sophomore seasons, he was seen as a lesser option to the coaching staff and saw limited playing time off the bench.

 

But when Pete Egbert took over as head coach in 2008, he held a team meeting at the start of the season to evaluate the squad.

 

Minutes later, Murphy was knocking on his door for a private meeting. The two spent an hour talking about ways Murphy could improve his swing before Egbert even had a chance to see him hit.

 

“My understanding is that they thought they had someone better than him,” Egbert said. “He wasn't nearly as good as a freshman as he became in his junior season.”

 

He broke out that season en route to setting single season hit (61) and walk (42) records.

 

He started a streak on March 25, 2008 that would roll all the way to the final game of his career. Murphy reached base in 67 straight games, including 115 hits (.377) and 58 walks. It wasn't always easy; he was hit by nine pitches.

 

“He knows his swing as well as any college player I've coached,” Egbert said. “If we have batting practice for an hour, he's one of the guys working for that full hour.”

 

On March 14, Murphy reached the NCAA D-III books with an eight-hit game at Polytechnic.

 

He set school career records in triples (12), walks (91) and stolen bases (45).

 

The list goes on in single season records. This season, Murphy set records in triples (7), runs (60) and stolen bases (30). He also broke his own hits record with 71.

 

“The records are important to him, but I think he really wants to leave a mark on some of the younger players,” Egbert said. “It's going to be really tough to replace him.”

 

Murphy was named a first team All-Freedom selection and team MVP this season—the second consecutive season he's been named all-conference and MVP.

 

Murphy capped his career with a 2-for-3 performance against Marywood at PNC Field on April 26. He scored two runs, drove in two more and smashed a big league double.

 

Murphy graduates this month with a degree in sport management. He intends to get into coaching and wants to eventually become an athletics director.