Cyclones catcher Luca Bozzo tags out Hackettstown’s Antonio Peluso at the plate in the fourth.
By Rich Bevensee
Davis Murphy’s plans, other than to become an elite pitcher when he arrives on the Lafayette campus next fall, is to make it extremely difficult for his college head coach A.J. Miller and his staff to make him put down his bat.
Murphy, a 6-1 righty, pitched two stellar innings on Tuesday night for the Out Of The Park Cyclones 18U ballclub in the Diamond Nation High School Fall League in Flemington, but it was his bat that baseball fans were talking about.
On the first pitch he saw on Tuesday, Davis belted a no-doubt-about-it grand slam home run to lead the Cyclones to a 10-6 win over the Hackettstown Tigers.
Murphy struck out four in two innings while allowing one run on one hit and one walk. He also went 2-for-3 with a grand slam and a double. Through six games with the Cyclones this fall, he is batting .429 with two homers, two doubles and seven RBI.
Lafayette’s plans are to make the Scotch Plains-Fanwood senior a pitcher-only, or PO, but apparently the jury is still out on that decision.
“I think it’s going to be a big change because I’ve hit my whole life,” Murphy said. “Who knows? Maybe if I put a bunch out this high school season. Maybe… They’re open to anything. They told me that a kid that’s there to hit originally was up to 92 (miles per hour), so they had him throw, too. So it’s not set.”
Division 1 baseball is a whole different animal than high school or club ball, but it would be a shame to see the offensive part of Murphy’s game get shelved.
“When Davis is locked in at the plate, he’s as good of a hitter as anyone, and he showed that tonight,” said Cyclones coach Rob Snyder, who’s been coaching for 20 years.
“He definitely looks like a two-way guy. Obviously at the D1 level that’s a decision they will make, but who knows? Once he gets there and he keeps swinging it, they may change their mind. In his mind he’s not a PO. He likes to swing it. There are only a few guys, the elite guys, who do both at that level, but it will be interesting to see what happens with him.”
Lafayette was drawn to Murphy as a pitcher for several reasons. His fastball routinely sits in the mid to high 80s, he owns a devastating 12-to-6 curveball, and he commands his slider and changeup with precision.
He is comfortable with throwing any of his pitches for strikes, and that’s no accident. As much as he enjoys hitting, he said his dedication to pitching has always been on a higher level.
The Cyclones’ Davis Murphy doubles down the line in the third inning.
“Pitching is what I’ve enjoyed the most so that’s what I’ve focused on the most when growing up,” Murphy said.
Last spring for Scotch Plains, Murphy posted a 3.10 ERA over 38 innings and he batted .300 with three homers and 13 RBI.
All observers agree that Murphy is a true weapon on the mound, but it would be foolish for opponents to disregard him as a two-way threat.
“He is one of the more talented ones (two-way players) for sure,” said Travis Zilg, an 18-year coaching veteran who is OOTP’s Head of Player Development, Lead Pitching Instructor and Prospects Coordinator. “He has developed a ton on the mound with me over the last three years but offensively he has always been a middle of the order kind of hitter and has plus speed on the bases.
“I think if he invested as much time in his hitting as he did with his pitching, he would be even better, but I’d say he’s pretty damn good at the plate as well. He’s a special talent and it’s hard to find two-way players who are above average in both categories.”
Because Murphy is slated to pitch for the Cyclones on Friday in Diamond Nation’s Fall Classic, he was limited to two innings against Hackettstown.
“It’s fall, it’s cold, and I’m pitching in a tournament this weekend,” Murphy said. “Right now it’s about staying sharp and seeing what pitches are working.”
Murphy said there is potential for him to become even more effective over these final weeks of fall baseball, during winter conditioning and one last season of high school ball. That’s a scary thought.
“The biggest thing right now is gaining weight,” said Murphy, who weighs 185. “Weight, speed, strength. That’s what I’ll be working on.
Weight room stuff and staying consistent with my throwing.”
For the Cyclones (6-0) against Hackettstown, Murphy’s Scotch Plains teammate Aiden Lucarelli went 3-for-3 with a double and two runs scored from the leadoff spot. Luca Bozzo had a two-run single and
Anthony Mustacciuolo forced a run home with a bases-loaded walk.
Kevin Woodring came on in relief of Murphy and pitched 1⅓ innings, allowing two runs on one hit and four walks with one strikeout. Ronnie Germinder did not allow a run over two-thirds of an inning, and Jack Lilly gave up three runs in one inning on three hits and two strikeouts.
For Hackettstown (2-6-1), Sean Benbow, a Hackettstown High junior, launched a three-run home run, his second of the fall, and Charlie Norton hit two doubles. Joey McCaffrey had a sacrifice fly RBI and Braiden Costello coerced a bases-loaded walk.