Former Baler Michael Murphy might be able to fulfill one of his dream’s in the upcoming month, if his North Dakota State Bison continue to win.
The sophomore’s Bison are one step away from participating in the FBS championship game. But first they’ll have to beat Georgia Southern, which travels to Fargo on Saturday.
“It’s been a great experience being able to play at this level against this competition,” Murphy said over the phone from Fargo. “It’s been a great opportunity.”
Murphy, who is the team’s long snapper, has played in every Bison game during the year. The Bison, who are 13-1, are currently the fourth ranked team in the country. The Bison spent two weeks earlier this year as the country’s No. 1 team.
The Bison advanced to Saturday’s game by beating Lehigh 24-0 at home.
And the biggest reason for the Bison’s success so far this year has been the support of their loving crowd.
“It’s always sold out here,” Murphy said. “It’s really great to be on the field surrounded by 18,000 people.”
This year, Murphy has not played any snaps on defense. But from the long snapper position, Murphy has recorded 1 tackle and two assisted tackles.
The Bison take on Georgia Southern at 11:35 p.m. Saturday. The game can be found on ESPNU or ESPN 3.
Darin Gillies
Home for winter vacation, San Benito graduate and Arizona State right-handed pitcher, Darin Gillies is preparing for his first season of college ball.
After participating in winter ball for Arizona State, where he threw 16 innings, Gillies is throwing long-tosses to prepare his arm for the season, he said.
“Right now I’m just doing some weight training and long-tosses,” Gillies said. “I’m not doing bullpen right now.”
Once Gillies returns to school on Jan. 4, the team will start to run individual drills for the team, he said. The individuals will be four-on-one training sessions to prepare for the season.
Afterward the team will prepare for the season opener on Feb. 17.
“I’m really excited for my first season of college baseball,” Gillies said.
In the meantime, Gillies is developing a slider to go along with his curve ball and fastball, he said.
“My coaches told me they wanted to see if I could throw the pitch,” he said. “Everything I do comes off of my fastball, and the coaches said the slider will have a tighter break than my curve ball.”
The pitch is still in its infancy, Gillies said.
“I haven’t thrown it in a game yet,” he said.
The Sun Devils finished last year ranked No. 11 in the nation with a 43-18 record.
