Abbey Murphy traded the ice for the mound at Rate Field on Saturday, firing a ceremonial first pitch with a hockey stick before the Chicago White Sox met the Colorado Rockies.
Key takeaways
- The Seattle Torrent forward sent the ball over the plate from the pitcher’s mound, with White Sox reliever Hagen Smith receiving it.
- Murphy grew up in Evergreen Park, an Illinois community south of Chicago.
- She helped the United States win women’s Olympic hockey gold in 2026.
- Murphy owns two IIHF Women’s World Championship gold medals.
- Seattle selected her second overall in the 2026 PWHL Draft.
A hometown moment at Rate Field
There was no conventional windup and no soft toss from Murphy. With her stick in hand, the hometown product set the baseball on the rubber and took a full hockey-style shot from the mound.
The attempt came in high, but it carried straight across the plate and into Smith’s glove. For a scorer with Murphy’s finishing touch, seeing a shot stopped was hardly a concern on this occasion.
The appearance put one of the Chicago area’s newest hockey stars in front of a local crowd before the White Sox took on Colorado. Murphy’s path has quickly moved from Illinois rinks to the sport’s biggest international stages and now to the PWHL.
Gold medals and Seattle’s next dates
Murphy was part of the U.S. women’s national team that captured gold in 2026. Her international résumé also includes two world championship titles, highlighted by a record-setting moment at the 2023 IIHF tournament, when she scored the fastest goal in the event’s history.
The Torrent made Murphy the No. 2 selection in the 2026 draft, adding an explosive forward whose speed and shot have already made an impact for Team USA.
Seattle’s preseason schedule opens Sunday, November 29, giving Murphy and the Torrent their next chance to get back to hockey business after her memorable one-shot stop at Rate Field.
