Sam Murphy is a sophomore 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 baseball season to all,
My inaugural post comes to you with great excitement! Just yesterday, the Summit League announced the preseason coaches' poll for baseball, and we are favored to repeat as regular-season champions as voted by the league's coaches. It's quite the honor; last year we were picked to finish last, and, well we all know how that turned out. It's definitely nice to see Omaha baseball gain some respect in the conference and beyond. However, with the honor comes the fight – but we're ready!
Who Am I?I'm a 20-year-old, sophomore left-handed pitcher/utility guy for the UNO baseball program. I hail from Florida. I'm majoring in broadcasting. And I like quinoa. If you know this, you know me.
Student-athlete blogging is something new the UNO communications department decided to start this season. I'm the guinea pig, the first student-athlete at UNO to embark on this adventure. The point of this whole endeavor is to keep you, the fans, up-to-date with our season and see it like you've never seen it before – from the inside.
Season OutlookSix days from now, we will load up the bus and be on our way to Knoxville, Tenn. I know I speak for all my teammates in saying we can't wait! It's been a long but productive offseason, and I know this team has prepared itself well for the upcoming year.
Opening the season against a couple teams from the Big Ten and SEC will be a stern challenge for us, but one that we're ready to grab by the horns. For a transitioning program like ours, when we get the opportunity to play schools from the “power” conferences, we have to take full advantage.
Our non-conference slate is as good as it gets in my opinion. How can you complain when the schedule includes a 10-day trip to Florida and a series in Phoenix all within a three-week period? I don't know about you, but the thought of being somewhere “Sunny and 75” really excites me right about now!
I'm hoping this first writing is somewhat of an illustration for the rest of my posts. My goal is to keep things somewhat entertaining but also give a player perspective on some of the things going on in our program and in college baseball. If you have any feedback, I'd love to hear it – you can shoot me a tweet @SamMurphy_17. Thanks for reading.
God Bless and Go Mavs,
Sam Murphy
