Baseball

Mark of perfection

Tri-Valley’s Bo Murphy hurls a perfect game against Chapel Field

By RICHARD A. ROSS

GRAHAMSVILLE, NY — Humankind stands in awe of perfection. One look at the Tiffany Yellow Diamond, with its 90 perfect facets, is spellbinding. We stand transfixed before masterful works of art and are transported by music that touches us to our very core. Perfection is a rarity in every walk of life and although many people strive for it, a rare few attain it.

When it comes to sports, nothing is more sacrosanct than that rarest of gems, baseball’s perfect game. To earn the distinction of pitching one, a hurler must retire each and every batter, walk no one and allow no runner to reach first base. In the annals of major league history, only 17 pitchers hold that distinction. The last one was recorded by David Cone of the New York Yankees on July 18, 1999 in a 6-0 blanking of the Montreal Expos.

True, perfect games are more common in high school or college, but they are still rare and those who hurl them become the stuff of legend.

Tri-Valley’s Bo Murphy joined those elite ranks on April 9 with his 5-0 jewel against Chapel Field. Murphy’s perfect game is only the sixth on record in the archives of the New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA). What took place at City Field against the Lions on April 10 will be enshrined as an enduring memory in the senior pitcher’s mind for the rest of his life.

But Murphy won’t be alone in holding that treasured recollection. The events of this special event will be branded into the consciousness of his 11 teammates who lent their gloves, bats and spirit to the effort. Three stellar fielding plays, including a sliding catch by teammate Sean Drown, a dive in the hole and laser put out by Brendan Musa and heads-up play at the fence by Andrew Yager helped preserve Murphy’s mark of perfection, as did the team’s timely hitting and heads-up play on the base paths.

During the course of the game, one could sense something special was unfolding, but those who knew what was happening tried not to think about it lest their thoughts jinx the seemingly unimaginable.

For coach John Rusin, who has seen no hitters but never a perfect game, the story of Murphy’s 78-pitch gem that featured nine strike outs, great pitch location, changing speeds and a bewildering mix of pitches, artfully called by catcher Timmy Martin, will become one of the defining memories of his life. Those lucky few that included parents, fans and this writer will also be able to say we saw it happen.

The nexus of a perfect game begins with the battery, the pitcher and catcher who must lock in on every pitch and effect perfect communication. While Rusin usually makes a practice of calling the game’s pitches in the first inning, he quickly allowed Martin to call the game. Seeing that Murphy’s fast ball was lively and had great movement, Martin set up to receive the ball low and at the corners and Murphy hit his spots. Using his fast ball, a curve and even a knuckler, Murphy delivered what Martin called for and Chapel Field’s hitters had few opportunities to get good swings. Murphy never allowed a batter to reach a three-ball count. Taking a page from the great pitching performances, Murphy kept ahead of batters all day.

That Murphy was able to toss this gem against Chapel Field is most impressive. True, coach Joe Canazon lost five good players to graduation last year, including Steve Roman, Josh Aquiri, Mark Schaper, Matt Dun and John Cohen, but his squad still has veterans Zac and Danny Menendez, Joe Schlegel and Matt Pooley as a solid core. The Lions are a force to be reckoned with but on this day, Murphy and company tamed them.

Neither team scored in the first inning, although Tri-Valley did register a hit from Drown who then stole second.

Murphy struck out the side in the first inning but a dropped third strike resulted in the put out being recorded 2-3. Murphy looked relaxed and comfortable on the mound, trademarks of an athlete with immense poise who never rattles. In this writer’s estimation, Murphy ranks as one of the top athletes, if not the top althlete, in Sullivan County and in Section Nine. Ask any opposing player in football or basketball about him and you’ll get the same respectful and deferential nod. The kid’s got game in every sport and, even more importantly, he’s got class and a sense of humility, rare traits in athletes these days at any level.

Two years ago, Rusin inserted the then sophomore into a 1-0 league game against Fallsburg in the seventh inning. Murphy took the ball with bases loaded and no outs as his team clung to the narrow lead. One, two, three went the Comets as the big fella just threw gas. Rusin knew then he had something special and Murphy has done nothing but get better ever since.

Tri-Valley got on the board in the second inning as Andrew Yager was hit by a pitch. Charlie Edwards got a single off Lions’ hurler Schlegel. A sac fly by Brandon Edwards moved the runners up and Jesse Brown got the RBI with a grounder.

The Bears added three runs in the bottom of the fourth. With one out, Charlie and Brandon Edwards, along with Brown, got consecutive singles to load the bases. Dan Byrne worked out a walk to force in the game’s second run. A RBI single by Martin made it three-zip.

Brendan Musa’s sac fly added the fourth run. Tri-Valley added its fifth and final run in the fifth inning as Yager singled and Charlie Edwards reached on an E-5. That put runners at the corners and Brandon Edwards’ grounder plated the run.

Both pitchers worked a scoreless sixth and seventh inning. Schlegel pitched a solid outing, striking out five and walking one. But on this day, he was clearly overshadowed by Murphy’s stellar performance.

For Tri-Valley (2-5), this win was the complete antithesis of its ignominious 14-6 loss to Livingston Manor just two days prior. In that game, the Bears allowed nine unearned runs, and while Rusin credited Manor for its fine play and immense improvement, he took his own team to task for its lack of focus. The up-and-down week had started with a crisp 9-1 win over Fallsburg, as Drown had struck out eight and allowed just two hits.

Looking back over the week, Rusin and the Bears can see the realm of possibilities for their season: execute well, do the little things and keep their focus and they can compete with any team or, as the Manor game showed, let it all slip away and waste their potential.

Rusin summed things up in his post-game talk. “You can’t take any team for granted. The game against Manor was one of the worst performances I’ve had as a coach. But today’s game might have been the best game I’ve had as a coach. You should be very proud of yourselves. They’re a well-coached team that executes well and puts the ball in play.”

Rusin told Murphy, “That was the greatest pitching performance I’ve ever seen in person,” and to his team he added, “and you guys were right there for him.”

Murphy was trying to take it all in. Unlike the passionate realm of football, in which he evinced great emotion and fiery play, Murphy said that baseball is an entirely different game. “It hasn’t really hit me yet,’ he admitted. He looked starry-eyed as he gave props to his team and his battery mate. Asked about his success, he chalked it up to his command. “My two seamer was really working today and my curve was breaking. I even threw a knuckler in there as a change up,” he said, but quickly deflected the glory back to his teammates. “I’m so happy for the team. They really came to play today,” he noted with a smile that continued to light up his face.

Rusin, who enjoys a special relationship with his team, a number of whom were on his Section Nine championship football team, including Murphy who was the title game’s Most Valuable Defensive Player, took his team to Myrtle Beach this year to play against big schools with an embedded baseball tradition. The goal was to be competitive. The team lost four games in South Carolina but may have gained something far more precious in the process.

What the Bears unveiled against Chapel Field (1-3) was a rare chemistry that comes along only once in a while. As Rusin noted, you can’t pitch a perfect game every day, but now the team knows it has the ability to raise the ante and lay it all on the line.

As for Chapel Field, coach Canazon knows what is needed for his Class D Lions. First and foremost on the list is better hitting. With only three hits against O’Neill, five against Marlboro and none against Tri-Valley, the Lions have to have better at bats to combat the rising threat of both Manor and Eldred, both 2-0 at this early juncture. With Roscoe pulling out of the mix due to lack of players, Canazon must now face a week with no games. It’s the last thing his team needs.

With good, but not overpowering, pitching, his team’s defense will also be a factor in the team’s fortune. At present, Canazon knows he may have to move a couple of people around, but with only nine players and a junior varsity team that can’t afford to lose anyone, that problem is apt to be dicey.

That said, look for Chapel Field to be right there come playoff time. With Canazon at the helm and that core of players, anything else would be disappointing.

Visit riverreportersports.com for an album of pictures from the game. Below is a chart of major league pitchers who have thrown perfect games.

American League

Pitcher Date Result

David Cone 07-18-1999 New York 6, Montreal 0 

David Wells 05-17-1998 New York 4, Minnesota 0  

Kenny Rogers 07-28-1994 Texas 4, California 0

Mike Witt 09-30-1984 California 1, Texas 0

Len Barker 05-15-1981 Cleveland 3, Toronto 0  

Catfish Hunter 05-08-1968 Oakland 4, Minnesota 0

Don Larsen 10-08-1956 New York 2, Brooklyn 0*  

Charlie Robertson 04-30-1922 Chicago 2, Detroit 0

Addie Joss 10-02-1908 Cleveland 1, Chicago 0

Cy Young 05-05-1904 Boston 3, Philadelphia 0

*Game 5, 1956 World Series

National League

Pitcher Date Result

Randy Johnson 05-18-2004 Arizona 2, Atlanta 0  

Dennis Martinez 07-28-1991 Montreal 2, Los Angeles 0

Tom Browning 09-16-1988 Cincinnati 1, Los Angeles 0  

Sandy Koufax 09-09-1965 Los Angeles 1, Chicago 0

Jim Bunning 06-21-1964 Philadelphia 6, New York 0

Monte Ward 06-17-1880 Providence 5, Buffalo 0

Lee Richmond 06-12-1880 Worcester 1, Cleveland 0