Head Coach Kevin Kerins and the 2018 Mercer County Baseball Vikings were not where they expected or wanted to be when they returned from Myrtle Beach on March 15. Even with a winning record of 9-8, the team was off to one of its slowest starts since Kerins took over the program in 2012.
“We’re off to a slow start but we got a lot of new pieces. We’re getting to learn who’s going to be our producers, who’s going to be guys that we can trust in big spots,” Kerins said. He added, “Getting guys to learn how to play the style that we want as coaches takes time.”
Eighteen games into the season, the program was at its lowest win total since 2011 according to MCCCs Athletics. But with 18 games played, the most by any team in the region at that point, it gave the coaching staff ample opportunities to test out a number of lineup strategies before settling on one that has now spearheaded the team to six straight wins.
“I think we settled in on a lineup … I think we have some really talented players, it’s just a matter of us putting them in the right spots,” Kerins said.
A three game win streak to finish to the Myrtle trip parlayed into the team’s homecoming against Borough of Manhattan. The Vikings picked up two more wins and outscored their division III opponents 21-5.
And then the snow came and when all was said and done the Nor’easter that occurred on Wednesday, March 21 may very well be remembered as a turning point in the Vikings 2018 season. Following their wins against Manhattan, the team was dealt with a 10 days break from game action, a circumstance that sophomore catcher Jimmy Versage claims can swing either way for a team trying to get back on track.
“We had a bit of a rough of a first half of the season, so this break might be a positive or a negative, so we’re hoping it’s gonna be a positive,” Versage said. “We had a couple really good practices where the coaches were really hard on us, so I think that kinda changed everybody’s outlook,”
For the time being it has worked into the Vikings favor. Against ASA the team was able to pick up another win and ‘tune back up’ against an opponent that the program hasn’t lost to in Kerins’ tenure as head coach.
“We were basically gonna chop up the entire game so that everybody stays fresh and is sharp and available the rest of the week,” said Kerins.
Kerins’ tuneup strategy featured the use of three pitchers over five innings. Chris Mormile, Cole Davis and Dave Stec all combined for a one hit, six strikeout shutout performance over the ASA offense that has scored four runs against Mercer in the past four years according to MCCC Athletics.
Versage led the way on offense with three RBIs and a run scored as Mercer only needed five innings to put away the Avengers 11-0 in what Kerins deemed simply a tuneup game.
“Every game matters, they seed the playoffs, they seed the world series but with us not having played in such a long time it was important that we chop up our lineup today so that all of our guys are available Thursday,” Kerins said
In an interview with the VOICE ASA head coach Francisco Perez stated the disadvantage the weather presents to his team with several of his key players being transfers from the Dominican Republic, while also giving credit to Mercer and their talent.
“I don’t think we were fully prepared but I can say the same thing for Mercer. It’s tough weather. They do have some tough kids, especially from around here with kids that are used to this weather so it makes it a lot easier, but they got a really good ball club,” Perez said.
Mercer’s continued dominance of the NYC based D1 program will be tested however as they are scheduled to meet two more times this season.
