Sherando's Merchant profits from hard work

Senior starred as pitcher, third baseman as Warriors reached Region II tournament

By Greg Brill - sports@nvdaily.com

STEPHENS CITY -- From an early age, Nick Merchant learned to respect the game of baseball and to play hard at all times.

That said, all the work Merchant has put in over the last few seasons at Sherando has left a lasting impression with many. So much so that Merchant earned himself a spot at two positions on the all-Northwestern District first team and the league's Player of the Year award.

"I'd hope I'd be fun to play against," Merchant said. "I like to think I'm competitive. I play honest and that's how I was taught to play baseball a long time ago."

A lot has changed since Merchant made the cut in the spring of 2006, a rare freshman to make varsity for coach Pepper Martin. In fact, Merchant had only 17 regular-season at-bats, getting three hits.

But ever since a breakout sophomore season, in which he flirted (.476, 20 RBIs) with a .500 batting average, Merchant has been a name to cause much concern for pitchers throughout the Northwestern.

His place in the lineup this season was usually preceded by fellow senior Blake Adams. A tough out himself, Adams got many pitches to hit early in counts with Merchant waiting his turn in the on-deck circle.

"It did seem like I saw quite a few first-pitch fastballs," said Adams, who batted .337 with a team-best 24 RBIs and was a first-team all-district pick at second base. "I don't know if they were happy to get me to ground out and not [have to] pitch to Nick or what. It did help."

The teams that did try to challenge Merchant at the plate rarely won the matchup. Merchant enjoyed a dynamic final season for Sherando (19-7), batting .393 with 19 RBIs and only six strikeouts in 97 plate appearances. Throw in his seven wins as a pitcher and Merchant is The Northern Virginia Daily's Baseball Player of the Year.

"There's no question at certain parts of the season he put this team on his back and carried them," Martin said. "Particularly on the mound late in the season. The bigger the game the better his performance seemed to be."

Many times, Merchant was called on to pitch in important games. Sometimes the same outing that took two days to complete. On May 11, Merchant allowed two hits over three shutout innings at home to James Wood before a downpour suspended the game. Two days later, Merchant was back on the hill to complete a four-hit shutout in Sherando's 4-0 win.

During the 2008 season, Merchant began to tinker with throwing from a different arm slot -- dropping down with a whip-like submarine pitch to baffle hitters. Depending on what was needed, Merchant mixed his arm angles as well as his pitches this season, going 7-3 with a 1.78 ERA in 14 appearances (10 starts). His 67 innings pitched and 57 strikeouts easily led the staff.

"I can't think of one pitcher we saw that drops down and throws sidearm as well as he did," Adams said. "I don't know what pitch it is, but he changes speeds well with the sidearm and he gets people to chase it."

Merchant had plenty of quality starts. He was able to go the distance five times, including a 5-1 win over Handley on March 19 in the first game played at Sherando's renovated stadium. On April 23, Merchant stopped Skyline, 7-4, in Bing Crosby Stadium, just before the Hawks went on a late-season surge. He allowed just two earned runs that game in his first start in over two weeks. Merchant also handed Brentsville a loss a week later, and gained his shutout of James Wood to help Sherando win its 10th straight game and gain a share of the Northwestern regular-season title with Brentsville.

Throw in plenty of big-time at-bats, and Merchant (10th all-time in program history with a .370 career batting average and seventh in career wins with 14) has been as complete a player as Sherando's program has seen over the last few seasons. Merchant's 10 extra-base hits this season included five doubles, three triples and two home runs. He rarely swung at pitches out of the zone, drawing more walks (eight) than at-bats ending with a K.

"He handles the game situations probably as well as any player I've ever had," said Martin, who has led the program since its inaugural season in 1994.

In his final home game, Merchant drove in runs in three different plate appearances against Broad Run in a 7-2 Region II win on May 25. An RBI groundout was followed by a two-run homer (his second of the season) and a sixth-inning run-scoring single.
"I didn't shrink from [responsibility]," Merchant said. "I mean, everybody fails in a situation like that. It's unavoidable and if you play this sport long enough, you're going to have more than one of those situations. ... I felt like I was able to step up to the plate and give my 100 percent effort."

When a word of encouragement was needed, Merchant was quick to offer advice to younger teammates. Junior all-district catcher Derek Reid, who had team-bests of 34 hits and a .420 batting average and launched a tape-measure shot in the Region II semifinals at Orange County, even needed a vote of confidence on occasion.

"There's been times Derek Reid would come into the dugout -- I mean, he's the single most talented kid in the league, I think -- and I think he'll get in the way of himself," Merchant said. "I try to encourage him in the dugout, help him on and let him open the door for himself."

Merchant has always been a popular teammate and was voted a captain (along with Adams and Curry Clevenger) before the season.

"I wouldn't call him a jokester," Adams said. "He's always there and you know you can count on him for a good laugh. But on the other hand, he always knows when it's time to get the job done. You know you can count on him to do that."

That Sherando became the first team in program history to go unbeaten (13-0) at home is one of Merchant's favorite memories as a Warrior. His time as a teammate to seniors and underclassmen alike ranks up there as well.

"I know I had great leaders when I was younger, and I hope I was a great leader to the kids underneath me," said Merchant, who will attend Radford University in the fall and try to make the baseball team as a walk-on.

A three-time, first-team all-Northwestern pick, Merchant also was a second-team all-Region II selection as both a pitcher and third baseman this season.
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