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VESTAL, N.Y. - Former Binghamton pitching ace Murphy Smith made his second trip to the area in 2016 as his Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Toronto) played a rare six-game series against the Binghamton Mets over the weekend. Smith, now in his eighth year of professional baseball, earned the save in the Fisher Cats' 4-2 win on June 30.

Earlier in the day, it was announced that Smith had been named to the Eastern League All-Star Game, set for July 13 in Akron. It will be his third all-star appearance in five years of Double-A ball, having been honored twice while with Midland (Texas), Oakland's Double-A affiliate.

In 2016, Smith carries a stingy 1.37 ERA in 25 outings in the bullpen. Converted from a starter to a reliever, Smith has struck out 53 in 46 innings this spring. He is 3-3 with three saves. He produced a 21-inning scoreless streak from April 22 to May 31 and allowed just one earned run through the first two months of the season. 

Smith, 28 years old, was one of 10 pitchers selected by Eastern Division managers, media members and fans.

At Binghamton, Smith was the 2009 America East Pitcher of the Year after helping the Bearcats advance to the NCAA Regionals for the first time in program history. As the team's ace in 2009, the 6-foot-3 righty led the conference in wins (7), strikeouts (84) and ERA (3.12) and postseason accolades also included ECAC Pitcher of the Year and ABCA first team All-Northeast region. In three seasons for BU, Smith totaled 13 wins and held a 3.89 career ERA. 

He was selected in the 13th round by Oakland in 2009 and spent six years with the Athletics' organization before signing with Toronto in 2015.