FEMALE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Murphy Powers Crimson to Title

On April 26, facing Boston College with one out and one runner on in the top of the first, freshman Lauren Murphy smashed the little yellow ball over the left-field wall. Harvard 2, Boston College 0.

Later, with one out in the third, Murphy sent the little yellow ball out again, far enough to clear the center-field wall this time. Boston College 6, Harvard 4.

And as the day wore on, with two out and two on in the fourth, Murphy blasted the yellow ball for the same long ride over the same center-field wall. Harvard 7, Boston College 6.

And on that same epic day, with Harvard ahead, 10-9, in the seventh, it was Murphy who knocked in two insurance runs to end Boston College’s hope for a rally.

The Crimson won the game and Murphy solidified her spot on the top line of opposing teams’ scouting reports for the rest of the year. Her three home runs against the Eagles were her 14th, 15th, and 16th bombs of the year. The first one set a Harvard single-season home run record. The third set an Ivy League record for most blasts in one game.

In the following contest, the Crimson beat Dartmouth, 2-0, riding the bat of Murphy once again. Her fourth-inning longball came in one of the few at-bats in which she was pitched to, but it was enough to give Harvard its only runs of the day. It was her 17th round-tripper of the year, good for a new Ivy League single-season record.

The list of year-end accolades was, naturally, very long. Murphy was named Ivy League Rookie of the Year in addition to making All-Ivy League First Team. She led the league with 46 RBI while hitting .359 with a .802 slugging percentage and she earned 33 walks—16 of them intentional.

She was the Ivy League Rookie of the Week two times in April and a third time the following month. During the first week of May, Murphy also got the nod for Player of the Week.

The best recognition, though, comes from her teammates and coaches.

“I don’t think enough words can be said to talk about Lauren Murphy’s performance this season,” said junior Ivy Pitcher of the Year Shelly Madick. “To know that potentially she could win the game with a swing, get you a couple of runs with a swing, that was always in your mind—at least in my mind—every time she got up.”

Crimson head coach Jenny Allard said that the effect of having such consistent production from a newcomer was a large part of Harvard’s league success this season.

“Her ability to hit the longball is really inspiring,” Allard said earlier this season. “We play and draw a lot of confidence off of that.”

The rookie slugger is part of a freshman class that made a lot of noise around the Ivy League this year. Freshman pitcher Dana Roberts threw 78 innings with a 2.60 ERA and earned Ivy Pitcher of the Week honors in mid-April for hurling a pair of shutouts against Yale and Holy Cross. And Stephanie Krysiak was named Rookie of the Week on March 27 for her performance at the Nisan Mercer Classic, an invitational tournament that the Crimson won over spring break.

But Murphy stood above the rest.

“[Murphy’s] impact has affected the team in a number of ways,” senior captain Julia Kidder said earlier this year. “For one, it’s increased our winning percentage.”

If her freshman campaign was any indication, it’s a percentage that will only increase in Murphy’s three years to come.

—Staff writer Julia R. Senior can be reached at jrsenior@fas.harvard.edu.