PREP PROFILE: Viking slugger to take bigger leadership role
Apr. 6—The announcement from coach Culley DeGroote was a simple one: Carter Murphy will be playing shortstop for West Vigo's high school baseball team this season after starting at third base the previous two springs.
There's more to it than that.
First of all, the shortstop at West Vigo is the captain of the infield, an edict laid down many years ago by former coach Steve DeGroote and carried on by his son.
And second, the shortstop who ran the infield the past two seasons, Peyton Clerk, did so as well as anybody the Vikings have had.
"Peyton was a great leader," Culley DeGroote said this week. "He led by example, he worked hard and he took things seriously. He also kept guys in line when he needed to."
Murphy does not take his new responsibilities lightly.
"Being able to be a captain on a high school team so talented? It's a huge responsibility, but also a huge honor," he said. "Peyton Clerk was one of the best leaders I've ever been around."
Clerk's work with younger Vikings is something Murphy plans to emulate.
"I'm trying to steer all the young players in the right direction," he said. "Our freshman group is more talented than any I've seen in a long time."
"Carter has stepped into that role," his coach said.
"He's led by example and now he's speaking when he needs to. I tell all our seniors that the more coaching they do, the less I have to do — and the better we're gonna be."
Becoming the official team leader is one of the few things Murphy hasn't already done for the Vikings. Although his freshman season in 2020 was wiped out by COVID-19, he batted .447 as a sophomore and .438 last season as a junior, with nine homers and 75 RBI in the 59 games West Vigo played those years.
The Indiana State signee, who will play this coming summer for the Rex, has reached base nearly 60% of the time in two years, with slugging percentages of .769 and .740. One scouting service ranked him as the best third baseman in Indian. And even though he's trimmed down a little bit to get quicker for the shortstop position, he's still one of the strongest players — the strongest? — on what DeGroote calls the biggest team he's ever had at West Vigo.
Murphy — who is finally being interviewed this season because West Vigo is also a seniors-first program — may not know about those stats. Or care.
"I don't like setting goals in stat categories," he said this week. "My goal has always been winning a state championship."
And after the Vikings won two of three games in a Tennessee tournament last weekend, losing 7-6 to a 12-1 Clarksville (Tenn.) Academy team, Murphy doesn't feel any less optimistic about that goal.
"I think that was the best team I've played since I've been here," Murphy said, comparing Clarksville Academy favorably with the Brebeuf team that defeated the Vikings in last spring's regional. "They'd played 13 games, we'd played two ... that shows how powerful we can be this year."
Murphy's abilities, as well as his leadership, will be important to that quest, of course.
"He's been a joy to have on the team," said Culley DeGroote, who is also Murphy's uncle. "He's coachable, he works extremely hard, he loves baseball and he's put in the time. He's been a good teammate, his teammates respect him ... I wouldn't trade him for any other infielder in Indiana."
