Q&A with Baylor Hall of Famer, now WC softball assistant Lisa Murphy

Lisa Ferguson Murphy has experienced softball success at every level of the sport.  

As a player, her high school team advanced to the playoffs, her club team won state and national championships, she was a four-year starter at Baylor University, advancing to the 2007 NCAA Women's College World Series (Baylor's first appearance), and she pitched for the National Pro Fastpitch runners-up Washington Glory in 2008. She was inducted into the Baylor Athletics Hall of Fame in 2019. 

As a coach, she was an assistant at the University of North Texas from 2010 to 2012, helping to lead the Mean Green to their first winning season and the pitching staff's lowest ERA in program history. She coached Fort Worth Christian High School to a state finals appearance in 2009, and she has been a pitching coach in the DFW Metroplex since 2012, currently working with Parker County Baseball and Softball.  

Oh, and she's also a pretty good swimmer. 

"I swam for the high school for two years, but it ran into softball season, and I knew I didn't want to choose swimming over softball, that was my sister's sport," she said. 

Suffice to say, she chose wisely. Now, after joining Weatherford College as an assistant coach in 2023, she is continuing that tradition of success. 

Q: What was it about coaching that drew you to the profession?   

LM: I grew up playing sports and have always been competitive in anything I do. I started helping my pitching coach with lessons during summers home from school and couldn't step away from the game after I was done playing. Now I can't imagine doing anything else. I love going to "work" every day. And now it's a bonus to get to work with the pitchers at the college; that level of play is so much fun. 

Q: Have you always been a pitcher, or did you play other positions?   

LM: When I didn't pitch, I played first base. But I didn't start out as a pitcher. I begged my mom and dad for a while to pitch, and I was finally selected to pitch at a tryout, and that was the start of that. I also tried to catch, but I didn't win that one. 

Q: How has your experience as a player at the highest level helped you as a coach?   

LM: I learned so much from my coaches, all of them from the beginning of travel ball through high school and college. Each of them was very different but offered tons of experience and knowledge.  

Q: What are your favorite memories of playing professionally?   

LM: It was a totally different experience from playing in college. I think my favorite memories would be meeting players from all around the country and eating dinner with them after we play, sitting together like old friends. The sportsmanship was nice. 

Q: Can you comment on what it was like to play in the World Series? Do you use that experience to inspire your players in any way?  

LM: Playing in the World Series was a dream come true. I love sharing what that was like with anyone who will ask because I'm proud of what our team accomplished that year. We had a small lapse in the season, I say small, but it didn't feel small. We went to Hawaii over spring break and played so badly that we lost out of the tournament, but ended up playing in the championship game because one of the teams had to catch a flight home. We were ranked No. 10 in the country at the time and had just come off a three-game series win against No. 1 Arizona.  It woke us up, just because we were good didn't mean anyone would back down, now we had a target on our backs. We did end up playing Arizona in the World Series. We lost 2-1 in nine innings. They won the title that year, so I'd say we had a good year.  

Q: I see you work with Parker County Baseball and Softball. Can you elaborate on that and why you enjoy working with aspiring young talent?   

LM: I have done lessons around DFW since May 2012. I've been to multiple facilities to try and find a permanent home. I agreed to move lessons to Parker County in the spring of 2018, and it has been a great move for me.  I'm closer to home, my daughter comes to work with me every day after school until my husband picks her up after work. She takes lessons there, too. The ownership/management there cares about all of their employees and the people who come in.  It's a great place to be. 

Q: Do you think your daughter, Cora, will follow in your footsteps and play softball?   

LM: I'd be lying if I said it wasn't something I hoped for one day. Cora started playing in the spring of '23. She kept asking to play catch, so we signed her up. She is still playing, and she also pitches. If this is what she loves to do, she has our support.   

But I know I lived my dream, I'm still living it because I get to do softball every day. But I will never force this on her. If she loves it, she can keep playing, but she can come to us any day and say she wants to do something else, and we will back her up 100 percent of the way. She also enjoys playing volleyball. 

Q: What are your hobbies?  

LM: I love the water. Put me somewhere that I can hear waves along the shore, and I'm in my happy place. I love to see new places. We just took a trip to the Netherlands with ABSA (American Based Sports Abroad) for a softball team, and it was an experience I'll never forget and hope to take another trip soon! 

Q: Any additional thoughts/comments?   

LM: I'm so grateful for the opportunity that I have to work with these pitchers. It has helped me remember how competitive this sport can be. They remind me a lot of Baylor softball, with the pressure the players put on opponents on both defense and offense.   

And of course, I love working with the pitching staff. It's a fun challenge to bring in experiences from college days and my everyday lessons, and I always love to learn different perspectives on pitching. I don't think I'll ever stop trying to learn this game.