Murray Finishing a Solid First Year at Rollins College

Jack Murray graduated in 2010 from , where he played baseball and football, and swam for the Scarlet Hawks. Murray excelled, however, in baseball. In his first start on the varsity team as a sophomore he threw a no-hitter. He had a solid pitching career for Milford, leading the team into the playoffs a few times against Doherty and Wachusett, but not as far as he would have liked to have gone. Off the field, Murray participated in student government, SADD and was a member of the National Honor Society in his junior year.

Upon graduating, the power-throwing lefty decided to take his passion for baseball to Winter Park, Fla., joining the Rollins College baseball team. Though Murray would eventually like to start, he has been coming out of the bullpen in relief so far this season for the Tars, and he’s done well. Murray has appeared in eight games, struck out five, and is sporting a 3.86 ERA.  After the season, he plans to return home to compete in his fourth year of Milford Legion baseball.

At Rollins, Murray may choose to study political science or business with a communications minor. (He's undecided right now.) If baseball isn’t in his future, he hopes to move back to Massachusetts after college and go to graduate school in Boston. Murray has an older sister,  

Favorite food: Cheeseburger with ketchup, mustard, tomato, lettuce and onion.

Favorite movie: Dumb and Dumber.

Favorite athlete: Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Jon Lester. He’s my role model.

If you were to throw against any professional baseball player, who would it be and why?

If I was to face a major league hitter, I’d want him to be good, so I’d probably have to say Ted Williams, if I could go back in time. The lefty - lefty match-up would be great and I would just like to see what he could do against me. He was unbelievable, so I’m sure he’d take me deep.

What’s on your iPod right now? I’ve been listening to a lot of music. Right now, I’m into Slightly Stupid and Pepper, Bob Marley and stuff like that, some nice relaxing music.

What have you been up to since graduating from Milford High School just a few short months ago?

It’s been great coming down here [to Rollins] and having the opportunity to play baseball every day. Classes down here are good, the weather is great, it’s a good place to be and I think I really chose the right spot [for college].

How has your first collegiate baseball season been going for you so far and what has been the biggest adjustment for you from high school baseball?

We’re a little bit more than half way done with the season and our record is good [18-12 as of March 28], but I think that myself, and a lot of the other players agreed, that we should be in a little better shape than we are right now. We’ve lost some disappointing games and I think we are a better team than our record indicates.

Right now I’m coming out of the bullpen and the biggest difference is that anyone in the lineup—one through nine—can take you deep. There’s such a big difference between high school and college, and even legion and college. In legion we had some tougher competition, but it’s nothing compared to what I face down here.

What made you choose Rollins College in the first place and what other schools were you looking at?

Well, ever since my freshmen year in high school it’s always been said to me that baseball in Florida is a ten times better experience. Being a kid with a pretty competitive nature, that’s where I wanted to go and they gave me the best offer and the opportunity to play.

I was in contact with some other schools up north: University of Maine, Boston College, Virginia Tech. And I contacted Brown, and William and Mary. I definitely listened to every coach, and felt that I needed to make the choice where the best spot was for me to play.

Can you talk about your Milford High School experience and if you had any favorite memories there, on or off the field?

Milford High School was great, having Coach “Goose” and just being a part of a historic baseball tradition was great. There were many memorable moments. I threw a no-hitter my first start of my sophomore year. Everyone always looks to that as being my best performance, but I felt that after my junior year, in the first round of the playoffs in a nine-inning game, that my one-hitter against Doherty was actually one of my better games that I’ve pitched.

I have to ask since I’ve now interviewed both you and your sister, Alex, is there any sort of sibling rivalry between you two?

Oh, no. I love her to death. My sister is one of the hardest workers I’ve ever seen and I’m so proud of what she’s done coming out of high school playing for a Division I school. It’s unbelievable what she’s done, she just works so hard (His sister—Alex Murray—plays softball for Quinnipiac University).

Who has been the biggest influence in your life?

My dad was probably the biggest influence on me. He always wanted to throw with me and it was a good way to bond. I just loved it ever since. He was my best friend and [baseball] was a great way to stay together. Then I just kind of took off. I loved working hard at it and it was something I loved. I had a little talent and I believed I could go somewhere.

What kind of hobbies do you have or what do you do in your down time?

Whenever I’m not studying, playing baseball or training for baseball, I’m definitely lying out by the pool or jumping in the lake. It’s [Rollins] just a beautiful place, about 10 minutes away from Disney World. I haven’t hit that up yet, but hopefully when I get some free time, I will.