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And so Pat Murphy became only the third head coach in Arizona State's 40-year baseball history. His five-year tenure at the helm of the ASU program has been marked with success. Murphy put together one of the most prolific offensive teams in ASU history last year. With a 39-21 overall record, 12-12 in conference action, the Sun Devils led the nation in batting average (.356) and scoring (11.32 runs per game). The .356 team average ties for the best single-season batting average in school history set by the 1981 National Champion ASU squad. As a team, the Devils led the conference in almost every offensive statistical category. Arizona State had more players drafted in the '99 Major League Amateur Draft (10) than any other school in the Pac-10 conference. The 1999 season also produced Pac-10 Player of the Year, ASU shortstop Willie Bloomquist. Murphy and his coaching staff led the 1998 Sun Devils to the pinnacle of collegiate baseball - the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska. It was Murphy's first trip to the big show, and it would be a memorable one. ASU finished second in the nation with a 41-23 overall record and a third-place finish in conference play (18-11). Arizona State ended the season with a No. 2 ranking in every major college baseball poll. Six players earned All-America status and 10 players were taken in the '98 MLB Amateur Draft, including Ryan Mills, who was the sixth pick overall by the Minnesota Twins. And on March 22, with a 7-6 victory over California, Murphy became the youngest coach (with 75% of his wins coming from Div. I) to reach 500 career victories. For his efforts, Murphy was named Coach of the Year by Baseball America.
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