Article

Heart of Rotation

McMurtry is key to Maverick's chances at NCC baseball tournament
By Chad Courrier
Free Press Staff Writer

MANKATO — On a pitching staff with several arms capable of producing 90-plus mph fastballs, Minnesota State's Matt McMurtry gets opposing batters out the old-fashioned way, with location and changing not speeds.

"I try to be a pitcher, not a thrower," McMurtry said. "I know I'm not going to gun the ball past people, I need to work corners and knees."

McMurtry, the ace of the Minnesota State staff, could be pitching today against Minnesota-Duluth in the opener of the North Central Conference baseball tournament, which the Mavericks must win to get considered for a berth in the regional tournament. Or, McMurtry might be saved for a possible second-round meeting with top-seeded Nebraska-Omaha.

"Throwing hard doesn't make you a better pitcher," Minnesota State coach Dean Bowyer said. "Scouts look at the hard throwers, but you need great location, you need to change speeds, and you need to have heart."

Bowyer wasn't speaking specifically about McMurtry, but he described the junior lefty perfectly. Though just 5-foot-11 and 160 pounds, McMurtry throws 86-88 mph and has come up big in big games.

He's 5-2 with a 2.30 earned-run average. In a team-high 582?3 innings, he's allowed 54 hits and 10 walks with 61 strikeouts. His numbers were inflated after giving up five earned runs on eight hits and two walks in five innings Friday in a 13-7 victory at Nebraska-Omaha, the Mavericks' only victory in the four-game series.

"You can send him out there (in big games) because he competes," Bowyer said. "If he has his location, and his changeup is working, he gets a lot of outs."

McMurtry spent his freshman season as a redshirt pitching prospect at Nebraska. But after one season, he could see that his future with the Cornhuskers might only be as a reliever. Minnesota State offered McMurtry the chance to pitch regularly, as well as play in the outfield.

That went well the first season as McMurtry batted .311 with three doubles, two triples and 12 RBIs, and he was 5 of 5 on stealing bases. He pitched in 10 games, compiling a 4-1 record with a 4.91 earned-run average.

Last season, he slumped at the plate, hitting .180 with two doubles, a home run and four RBIs, but he was developing into a top-notch pitcher, appearing in 11 games with an 8-2 record and 4.49 ERA, striking out 54 in 54 1/3 innings.

"If he's going to go on and play, it's going to be as a pitcher, not an outfielder," Bowyer said. "He wanted to do what's best for the team."

Despite pitching a career-high innings, McMurtry said that concentrating on pitching has been beneficial.

"I'm a lot more fresh," he said. "In the outfield, you throw every inning to stay loose, and you might have to throw somebody out (on the bases). I don't have to worry about anything but the game I pitch."

It was a tough weekend at Omaha, as the Mavericks needed to split the four games to win the conference championship and host the postseason tournament. Instead, the Mavericks lost the last three games, share the NCC title with Nebraska-Omaha and have to make another five-hour bus ride for the tourney.

"At the time, it was very disappointing, but there's nothing we can do about that now," McMurtry said. "We're 100 percent confident that we're the best team in this tournament. (Nebraska-Omaha) had their weekend, nobody could have beat them last weekend.

"We still have high hopes, but I really feel this is the year we can do something special."

North Central Conference baseball tournament

at Omaha, Neb.

Today's games

North Dakota (28-21) vs. Nebraska-Omaha (36-16), 1 p.m.

Minnesota-Duluth (25-22) vs. Minnesota State (33-15), 4 p.m.

Friday's games

North Dakota/Nebraska-Omaha loser vs. Minnesota-Duluth/Minnesota State loser, 11 a.m.

North Dakota/Nebraska-Omaha winner vs. Minnesota-Duluth/Minnesota State winner, 2 p.m.

Winner of 11 a.m. game vs. loser of 2 p.m. game, 5 p.m.

Saturday's games

Championship game, noon

Second game, one hour after first game, if necessary