Union University Athletics

Rachel Murray Buchanan came to Union from Herrin, Illinois and helped put a recently started Union softball program on the national map. She posted a career record of 126 wins, 22 losses, and two saves with a 0.58 ERA over her four seasons with the softball team. She appeared in 154 games, had 148 starts, 123 complete games, and 68 shutouts. Murray Buchanan tossed 970 innings with 1,257 career strikeouts. Offensively, she posted a .318 career averaged with 216 hits, 151 runs, 20 doubles, 17 triples, three home runs, and 95 RBI. She also stole 48 career bases. Murray helped Union win four TranSouth Conference Regular Season titles (1999, 2000, 2001, 2002), four TranSouth Tournament Titles (1999, 2000. 2001, 2002), two NAIA Region XI titles (2001, 2002), one MidSouth Region Title (1999), three NAIA National Tournament appearances (1999, 2001, 2002) with a best finish of 3^rd place in 2001, four NCCAA National Tournament appearances (1999, 2000, 2001, 2002), and two NCCAA National Titles (2001, 2002).
 
Murray Buchanan was named NAIA All-Tournament (2001), NAIA National Pitcher of the Year (2001), NAIA All-American (2000, 2001, 2002), NAIA All-Region (1999, 2000, 2001, 2002), NAIA Region Pitcher of the Year (1999, 2000, 2001, 2002), TranSouth Conference Pitcher of the Year (2000, 2001, 2002), and TranSouth All-Conference (1999, 2000, 2001, 2002).
 
Murray Buchanan holds numerous school records including triples in a season (9), triples in a career (17), runs scored in a season (62), sacrifice bunts in a career (40), games played in a season (71), at-bats in a career (680), most wins in a season (34), career wins (126), consecutive wins (21), career winning percentage (.851), lowest ERA season (0.33), career ERA (0.58), strikeouts in a season (369), strikeouts in a career (1,257), innings pitched in a game (12), season (286.1), career (969.1), appearances season (42), appearances career (154), complete games season (36), complete games career (123), shutouts season (20), shutouts career (68), starts season (38), starts career (145), most no-hitters season (8), and most no-hitters career (16).
 
After graduating from Union, Murray Buchanan earned a chance to try out for the USA Olympic Softball Team in Philadelphia, Penn. Next, she played summer league softball, including playing in the International Women’s Fast Pitch Tournament. Murray then spent two seasons as the assistant softball coach at the University of Mobile. In 2005, Murray went back to school and received a physical therapist assistant degree from Southern Illinois University. She traveled to numerous states as a physical therapist assistant, including a medical mission trip to India.
 
Murray Buchanan was inducted into the Herrin High School Sports Hall of Fame in 2012, both as an individual, and as a member of the 1998 team.
 
On December 31, 2012, she married her high school sweetheart, Jacob Buchanan. They currently live in Houston, Texas where she works as a full-time physical therapist assistant.