COLUMBUS, Ohio — Coming off of Tommy John surgery in October 2018, then-Marshall senior left-handed pitcher Patrick Murphy felt in a groove six weeks into his senior season.

Murphy felt he’d finally get to play a full season after missing all of 2018 and having his 2017 season cut short with a season-ending elbow injury. Then, Murphy felt his labrum pop, and he’d need surgery once more and go through the recovery process for the third season in a row.

The lefty said he was on the verge of hanging up his cleats and leaving the game of baseball.

“It was kind of upsetting to have to go back through the recovery process again,” Murphy said March 22. “The injuries just kept pouring on.”

Then, Ohio State head coach Greg Beals hit the trail back to his familiar Canton, Ohio, stomping grounds. Beals was an assistant coach for Kent State for nine seasons upon playing and completing his undergraduate degree for the Golden Flashes in 1995.

Murphy, a Canton Central Catholic High School graduate, had thrown in front of Beals when he and the Crusaders won the 2015 state championship. When Beals saw Murphy throw again four years later, he said he jumped on the opportunity to add the left-hander to the Buckeyes.

And it was the perfect fit for both sides.

“I think it’s really helped me keep playing these extra two years when I was on the verge of hanging them up,” Murphy said. “I just knew I trusted them that whatever plan they had for me was going to work, get me healthy to be able to play. It’s worked out well for me so far.”

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To say it’s only worked out well would be an understatement.

Murphy currently has Ohio State’s second-best earned-run average for a non-starting pitcher and hurler with more than six innings after appearing in five games during the abbreviated 2020 season.

The left-hander also sports a 3-0 record and has given valuable innings in long relief. Murphy threw a combined 3 ⅔-scoreless innings in two games against Indiana, helping the Buckeyes hang onto one-run wins April 2 and 4.

Murphy also tossed two frames Friday at Michigan, holding the Wolverines to one hit while facing the minimum after the Buckeyes rallied for three go-ahead runs in the top of the seventh to win 7-4.

“Pat brings some veteran leadership being a fifth-year guy. He definitely knows how to pitch the ball — not just a thrower, he knows how to pitch,” senior catcher Archer Brookman said Saturday. “He knows how to work in and out of innings, he has a good tempo on the mound. He keeps everyone nice and calm, and we know that we can trust Pat in any situation out there.”

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Murphy also has 14 strikeouts to just six walks in 16 ⅓ innings this season.

Upon his arrival to Ohio State pre-2020, assistant coach Dan DeLucia and director of pitching development Brad Goldberg took a look at Murphy’s mechanics and previous game film.

Beals said nothing major was changed to the lefty’s delivery, and that the focus was on building Murphy back to full strength at a slow yet efficient pace to make sure the mechanics were there.

“We wanted to clean the slate,” Beals said March 22. “You’re never sure exactly how [Murphy’s arm]’s gonna recover after the surgery and if that’s gonna change anything. We just went slow with him to learn as much as we could before we sped up and started attacking a game plan.”

Murphy credited DeLucia, Goldberg and what he’s learned at Ohio State for helping “step my game up a bit,” and that his mental game improved significantly.

Prior to entering Friday’s ballgame in Ann Arbor, Beals said he thought about not turning the ball to Murphy while behind on the scoreboard. Once redshirt-seniors catcher Brent Todys and first baseman Conner Pohl strung together RBI- and go-ahead singles, respectively, in the seventh inning, Beals quickly called for the left-hander to get warm.

Beals said Murphy’s production out of the bullpen has been “exactly what we need.”

But on a grander scale, Ohio State was exactly what Murphy needed to refind his love for the game into which he grew up giving so much.

“It feels good to be able to go out with these guys day in and day out and be healthy finally,” Murphy said. “Being around them is a lot of positive energy, and it helps keep me going.”