Murphy, Shepherd break new ground in North-South Softball Classic

Jun. 2—FAIRMONT — Fairmont Senior head coach John Murphy reckons it's been about 10 years since a Polar Bear softball player has been named to the annual North-South Softball Classic all-star game.

This year, Fairmont Senior has two such players.

The Polar Bears' Liz Murphy and Mikayla Shepherd both made the cut for the game, set for June 9, as two members of the Region I team. The North-South Softball Classic pits four teams made up of the best seniors from West Virginia's four regions against each other in a round-robin tournament.

This year's tournament is being held at Buffalo High School, some three hours away from Fairmont.

"It's an honor for these two to be selected," Murphy said. "I know that these two young ladies have worked hard, I can tell you from Elizabeth's end, she's been in the gym already since our season's been over. It never ends for them.

"It's an honor for them to be in the North-South All-Star game. I can remember that being a goal when I was a kid. I played football, and in your area there might be one. Very seldom do you have two from the same team, and that's really an achievement for the Fairmont Senior program."

Murphy and Shepherd earned their spots after batting .577 and .493, respectively, this past season. Murphy smashed 19 doubles, stole 22 bases, batted in 24 runs and recorded a team-high ERA of 4.5, while Shepherd led the Polar Bears in home runs with four, drove in 23 runs, and hit seven doubles of her own.

The tournament will see Region 1's team play Region 2, and Region 3 face Region 4. The losers of the first set of games will play each other, as will the winners. Skills challenges will be featured throughout the day as well.

"There's a lot going on," Levi Bender, Buckhannon-Upshur head coach as well as a coach for Region 1, said. "Lots of chances to highlight themselves and enjoy one last time in their uniform."

"From the way I understand it they've got four games being played at Buffalo High School," Murphy said. "And they're also going to have individual competitions — a home run derby, fastest arm, and base running."

A bunting competition rounds out the individual challenges at the event.

With some of the top seniors in the state all converging on one place, one unique feature that comes with that is seeing combinations of players that otherwise wouldn't share a diamond.

"This North-South roster, it transcends classes," coach Murphy said. "There's triple-A, single-A kids on this team, so this is truly the cream of the crop for high school softball."

Yet, even while drawing from such a large pool, the day is looking like it will serve as a reunion of sorts for the players.

"I can tell you from talking to Liz, just looking at the roster of 15, there's probably three she doesn't personally know," Murphy said. "Softball's a small community. It's going to be an opportunity to be on the field with these girls one last time in a kind of relaxed atmosphere. I'm so looking forward to it for their sake, to be recognized for the work they put in for years."

"I hope it's a great experience for every girl," Bender said. "I know it has been for me personally, and for every player that I've coached in it. They've had a wonderful time, a wonderful experience representing themselves, their school, their region."

Shepherd signed with Salem University on Tuesday, and Liz Murphy signed with Penn State Fayette in March. Many of the girls playing in the North-South Softball Classic are already committed to college softball, and for those who aren't, they get a shot to impress with some coaches in the stands on June 9.

"It's still a shame — things like West Virginia Metro, they have a power ranking for high school baseball, and they ignore the women's sports. It just tickles me to death to see a female athlete in West Virginia make it to that three-to-five percent of high school players, and never get an opportunity to play college. It's a tough sell in West Virginia."

"They get to see the top competition in the state, and play against them," Bender, who is coaching the tournament for the second time, said. "It also works as a nice preview too — a lot of these girls are going into college ball. They're staying in West Virginia and they're going to be playing against each other, so it's a preview for that."

"Some schools come down. Generally, most of the schools are pretty set with their senior classes, and they're just coming down to support the players that have signed with them. But there's always that chance that if you haven't signed, and you have a great day, those coaches are down there. It could be one of those 'last chance' moments."

Region One Roster

Coaches: Dave Mossor, Ritchie County; Bill Mossor, Ritchie County; Levi Bender, Buckhannon-Upshur; Tiffany Board, Buckhannon-Upshur; Jordan Hart, Buckhannon-Upshur

Players: Robin Ball, Buckhannon-Upshur; Breonna Marietta, Morgantown; Jocelyn McCartney, Morgantown; Fredrique Maloley, Grafton; Liz Murphy, Fairmont senior; Emilee Knorr, Brooke; Madison Angus, Weir; Mallory Rosnick, Weir; Hayley Thompson, Wheeling Park; Meysa Heitmann, University; Mikayla Shepherd, Fairmont Senior; Chaslyn Jones, Ritchie County; Audrey Dennis, Tyler Consolidated; Lillie Law, Ritche County

Reach Nick Henthorn at 304-367-2548, on Twitter @nfhenthorn_135 or by email at nhenthorn@timeswv.com.