The 16-6 Hamilton Huskies varsity baseball team is primed for a deep playoff run. A large contributor to Hamilton’s success has been 6-foot-4 left-handed pitcher Shane Murphy.

Murphy, who started the season with an ankle injury, wasted no time providing aid to an already scorching hot Hamilton team. In five starts, Murphy is standing tall with a 5-0 record and one save in 32 innings, in addition to a stellar 0.44 ERA and 40 strikeouts.

Murphy’s success on the mound can be measured by the way he carries himself, much like his favorite childhood pitcher, CC Sabathia, or lefty Blake Snell.

While Murphy has modeled himself in the shades of players such as Sabathia and Snell, he knows that success resides in routine for a pitcher.

“Routine is a pitcher’s backbone,” Murphy said. “Developing routines pregame, in between innings and in between pitches has been a huge improvement for me, which has gained me praise from my pitching coaches from Hamilton.”

This season, Murphy has taken pride in mixing pitch speeds, changing eye levels and setting up hitters for failure -- all results of the Grand Canyon University commit landing all three of his pitches in the strike zone with conviction. Murphy has also put an emphasis on slowing down the game.

“Once I get the ball I like to step behind the rubber and take two full breaths to think about what I’m going to do,” Murphy said. “That’s really helped me slow the game down and think about baseball in the moment.”

Murphy has the Fischer Institute to thank for these successes, a training facility in which mentors who have worked at the minor league and professional level craft training regiments catered for young athletes. The Fischer Institute has groomed the likes of major league players such as Cole Tucker of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Scott Kingery of the Philadelphia Phillies and Murphy’s older brother, Patrick Murphy of the Toronto Blue Jays.

Chip Gosewisch, head coach and director of sports performance at the Fischer Institute, has been Murphy’s trainer for over three years. When Gosewisch met Murphy, he first had to analyze Murphy as a player,  looking at everything from pitching speed, mobility and rotational strength. Then he created a training program based off of what he learned about Murphy.

Gosewisch revealed that, for a pitcher, the player must understand that pitching speed and strength begins at the ground and works their way up through the legs and are ultimately transferred to the arm.

“A pitcher doesn't just throw straight ahead,” said Gosewisch. “He needs to rotate, move laterally, do this all extremely fast, and then as soon as he releases the ball he needs to slow it down.”

Gosewisch has implemented an emphasis on rotational strength, core strength, endurance and conditioning in order to build up Murphy’s lower body and core. Health and body preservation are essential to a pitcher’s success.

“He’s respected the fact that him taking care of his body is the key to performing well and his longevity as a pitcher,” Gosewisch said.

Hamilton’s head coach, Mike Woods, is also pleased with Murphy’s ability and willingness to manage his body and sites this as his most significant improvement in his tenure as a Hamilton Husky.

“He is one of the most cerebral players we’ve ever had at Hamilton,” Woods said. “He knows more about baseball than many coaches I know, that comes from an intense curiosity of the game.”

Woods admires Murphy’s routine and approach to the game and says it is “evident” to his teammates.

“When your best guys do that; that’s gold,” Woods said.

Before heading off to Grand Canyon University, Murphy plans to pitch through the summer, but how much is dependent on how many innings he pitches for Hamilton. Murphy will continue to attend Fischer Institute to stay in shape and to keep his arm fresh as well.

“I think he will be doing something in the baseball world for a long while, if he chooses that path,” Woods said.