Softball Head Coach Patrick Murphy: 1,200 Wins and Counting
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — After Alabama softball got a second out in the top of the seventh inning, university staff members began passing out sheets of paper to the crowd. In bold, white type, each paper had a number on it.
1200.
There a little bit of a delay as Jaala Torrence, who pitched the last three innings of the game, walked the second-to-last batter before the Crimson Tide eventually defeated the Samford Bulldogs 3-2.
"Not really," Torrence said when asked if it was nerves. "I knew that no matter what happened we were gonna come out with the win."
Sure enough, the last batter flied out to right field and Alabama got the win, the 1,200th career win of head coach Patrick Murphy's storied career at the university.
"It's unreal," Murphy said when he spoke to the media. "To be at the same program for 27 years, it just does not happen in college athletics anymore in any sport. And to be here from day one until today is amazing."
Murphy is the ninth coach in NCAA history to win 1,200 games at one Division I school, and the first to do it in the SEC.
After Alabama won the game, Murphy was honored with a video tribute, showing highlights of his time as head coach, and with a rendition of Rhoads Stadium, where associate head coach Alyson Habetz talked about how much Murphy meant to the program.
"Although there have been some incredible wins on the field, the important wins are the ones that are lifetime lessons," Habetz said. "Your prints are on them, and because your prints are on them, they know how to write and handwritten thank you card, they know how to shake hands properly, and most importantly, they have hearts of Mudita.
"That's the secret to life: to be a true servant, to vicariously having joy for someone else as if it was your own. That's not just prints, that's the legacy you've left with all of us."
It was hard at times for Murphy to express how he felt in the moment as he was surrounded by his team, coaches, media and supporters who came into town to celebrate his 1,200th win. But with the rendition of the stadium at his feet, he spoke about his journey from Fayette, Iowa to working in the same position he's held since July of 1998.
"I never had anything to do with this school until I got her to coach," Murphy said. "And now 27 years later..."
He simply threw his hands up as he struggled to find the words and the crowd erupted with more cheers.
"I can't thank everybody enough, you guys are awesome," Murphy continued. "It's been the trip of a lifetime, believe me. To see it from day one until today has been the ride of a lifetime."
When Murphy spoke to the media after the game, one of the first things he did was give praise to Habetz, who has been with him his entire head coaching career, and strength coach Michelle Diltz, who has been with the program for 18 years.
"Every day, everybody know what's gonna happen," Murphy said. "We're consistent and I think it really helped us out."
While everyone came into the day with the milestone in mind, the game itself had to be played and the win did not come easy.
Alabama managed to have at least one base runner in two of the first three innings while Samford only had one in the same span. Alex Salter had a solid performance in the circle, but it was the top of the fourth inning where things started going south.
After the leadoff hitter Ansley Yantis was hit by a pitch, Bailey Dowling overthrew Aubrey Barnhart to allow Samford's Grier Bruce to reach safely and Yantis to reach third base. Abigail Dorsett pinch-ran for Bruce and stole second base, putting both runners in scoring position.
Salter managed to get the next two batters out, but back-to-back errors by Kenleigh Cahalan and Kristen White allow both Dorsett and Yantis score unearned runs.
"Salter had a great start, I thought," Murphy said. "the defense kind of let her down in that inning."
Alabama was down 2-0 and it looked like the celebration wouldn't come that day, until Dowling hit an RBI-double in the bottom half of the inning to cut the lead in half.
Fast forward to the bottom of the sixth inning, and the offense finally came through, first with pinch-hitter Ally Shipman hitting an RBI-single to score pinch-runner Larissa Preuitt.
Then, with two outs and two runners on, Cahalan singled up the middle to drive Dowling home for the go-ahead run.
Torrence seals the deal in the top of the seventh inning. Ball game.
"They definitely made us work hard for it," Murphy said about the win. "I looked up one time and it was eight hits to one and we were down. You gotta give [Samford] credit.
"Why not make it hard, right?"
While Murphy was happy with the win, he was still critical of the team's performance, especially with the missed opportunities early in the game.
"The first inning we had runners on first and second with no outs and out 3, 4 and 5-hitters up," Murphy said. "That's when you really gotta put some runs up and we go 0-for-3. That's something that we have to do better at, continuing an inning.
"We gotta pass the baton down and we didn't do that tonight."
Alabama did have plenty of opportunities as the Crimson Tide left eight total runners on base at the conclusion of the game. The one thing team did do: win.
1,200 and counting.
See also: No. 7 Alabama Softball Defeats Samford 3-2
Miller’s 41 points lead No. 2 Alabama Over South Carolina in Overtime
