Bullpen Banter: Let's Call It "May Madness"
May 25, 2016 | Baseball
Sam Murphy is a junior left-handed pitcher for the Omaha baseball team. A broadcast journalism major from Lake Worth, Fla., Sam will write posts throughout the season for his blog, “Bullpen Banter,” available exclusively on OMavs.com.
Happy “May Madness!”
It's tourney time! That feels nice to say. It's been a little more than four years since the last time an Omaha baseball team participated in a postseason tournament; this year, obviously, is the first for the program at the Division I level.
It's exciting, no doubt. Postseason college baseball is much like college basketball's March Madness; there are always upsets, emotions always run high and madness always ensues. For us, this is something the senior class has been waiting for and dreaming about since we got to Omaha in 2012.
The postseason starts today in Tulsa, Okla., as the Summit League Tournament gets going. Fort Wayne – quite possibly the hottest team in the nation, coming into the matchup having won its last 10 games – stands in our way in the opener. Having watched these tournaments play out from afar for the past four years, it's hard not to notice how important the first game of double-elimination tournaments are. You often have to win your first game to even have a shot at winning the title. And that's why we're giving them our best arm with Foxy on the mound.
Our team has battled all year. From the daunting early travel schedule – where we played our first 18 games on the road – to losing a handful of games we could've/should've/would've won…all those moments add up to now. It's go time. It's time for us to make our move and put Omaha baseball on the college baseball map for good.
I can guarantee you that there is nothing more this senior class wants than to end their storied careers where they started them…in Omaha, holding the NCAA championship trophy at the College World Series.
That may sound far-fetched, but this team actually believes it. It's Omaha or bust for this group. But our road to Omaha goes through Tulsa first, and that's what the focus is for this week. One. Game. At. A. Time.
I definitely couldn't write this post without congratulating my friends and teammates Ryan Cate, Tyler Fox, Cole Gruber and Clayton Taylor on phenomenal seasons. The quartet was named to the All-Summit First Team at the conference banquet Tuesday evening at the team hotel. Foxy and CT added to their hardware totals as they were named Pitcher of the Year and Player of the Year, respectively – well deserved for both. I know I speak for all my teammates in acknowledging how much we all appreciate what the four of you do on and off the field for your teammates and the program!
As always, if you have any feedback, I'd love to hear it – you can shoot me a tweet @SamMurphy_17. Thanks for reading, and I'll be back with you soon.
God Bless and Go Mavs,
Sam
Check out previous entries from "Bullpen Banter" below:
2014
#1 -- Let's Get Started (Feb. 7, 2014)
#2 -- A Delayed Start (Feb. 16, 2014)
#3 -- A Week in Florida (March 3, 2014)
#4 -- A Weekend in the Valley of the Sun (March 12, 2014)
#5 -- Spring Break Edition (March 29, 2014)
#6 -- Forging On to Fargo (April 8, 2014)
#7 -- Putting UNO on the Map (April 24, 2014)
#8 -- From North of the Border (June 13, 2014)
2015
#1 -- Long Time, No See (Feb. 10, 2015)
#2 -- Healing Powers (March 21, 2015)
2016
#1 -- Back to Bloggin' (Feb. 16, 2016)
#2 -- Georgia on My Mind (Feb. 25, 2016)
Happy “May Madness!”
It's tourney time! That feels nice to say. It's been a little more than four years since the last time an Omaha baseball team participated in a postseason tournament; this year, obviously, is the first for the program at the Division I level.
It's exciting, no doubt. Postseason college baseball is much like college basketball's March Madness; there are always upsets, emotions always run high and madness always ensues. For us, this is something the senior class has been waiting for and dreaming about since we got to Omaha in 2012.
The postseason starts today in Tulsa, Okla., as the Summit League Tournament gets going. Fort Wayne – quite possibly the hottest team in the nation, coming into the matchup having won its last 10 games – stands in our way in the opener. Having watched these tournaments play out from afar for the past four years, it's hard not to notice how important the first game of double-elimination tournaments are. You often have to win your first game to even have a shot at winning the title. And that's why we're giving them our best arm with Foxy on the mound.
Our team has battled all year. From the daunting early travel schedule – where we played our first 18 games on the road – to losing a handful of games we could've/should've/would've won…all those moments add up to now. It's go time. It's time for us to make our move and put Omaha baseball on the college baseball map for good.
I can guarantee you that there is nothing more this senior class wants than to end their storied careers where they started them…in Omaha, holding the NCAA championship trophy at the College World Series.
That may sound far-fetched, but this team actually believes it. It's Omaha or bust for this group. But our road to Omaha goes through Tulsa first, and that's what the focus is for this week. One. Game. At. A. Time.
I definitely couldn't write this post without congratulating my friends and teammates Ryan Cate, Tyler Fox, Cole Gruber and Clayton Taylor on phenomenal seasons. The quartet was named to the All-Summit First Team at the conference banquet Tuesday evening at the team hotel. Foxy and CT added to their hardware totals as they were named Pitcher of the Year and Player of the Year, respectively – well deserved for both. I know I speak for all my teammates in acknowledging how much we all appreciate what the four of you do on and off the field for your teammates and the program!
As always, if you have any feedback, I'd love to hear it – you can shoot me a tweet @SamMurphy_17. Thanks for reading, and I'll be back with you soon.
God Bless and Go Mavs,
Sam
Check out previous entries from "Bullpen Banter" below:
2014
#1 -- Let's Get Started (Feb. 7, 2014)
#2 -- A Delayed Start (Feb. 16, 2014)
#3 -- A Week in Florida (March 3, 2014)
#4 -- A Weekend in the Valley of the Sun (March 12, 2014)
#5 -- Spring Break Edition (March 29, 2014)
#6 -- Forging On to Fargo (April 8, 2014)
#7 -- Putting UNO on the Map (April 24, 2014)
#8 -- From North of the Border (June 13, 2014)
2015
#1 -- Long Time, No See (Feb. 10, 2015)
#2 -- Healing Powers (March 21, 2015)
2016
#1 -- Back to Bloggin' (Feb. 16, 2016)
#2 -- Georgia on My Mind (Feb. 25, 2016)
Players Mentioned
INF/RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
INF
/ BaseballTuesday, September 01
Wednesday, August 26
Friday, August 21
Tuesday, April 21
