Anthony Merchan is about as predictable on the mound as the weather in spring. On some days, he bounces his curveball to catcher Mike Gugliemi. And on other days, he can’t miss.
“He’s tough to figure out,” McClancy coach Nick Melito said.
On Monday at McClancy, Merchan was tougher to hit, going the distance in a 9-2 win against Christ the King in a pivotal Brooklyn/Queens clash.
Merchan allowed three hits in six scoreless innings before the Royals scored twice in the seventh on three hits. He struck out 11 and walked three in the complete-game victory.
“Sometimes when I snap and I’m fluid with it, it’s a good curveball,” Merchan said. “When I choke it, it bounces anywhere before the plate. Today was its best day probably.”
After giving up a walk and single to open the third inning, Merchan bore down and struck out three straight to get out of the jam unscathed.
“I felt better than most days,” he said. “My mechanics were good. Everything felt fluid, fine. I just wanted this game more than anything.”
In the first regular-season meeting between the teams at Juniper Valley Park on April 15, McClancy (4-6) jumped in front 2-0 after three innings, but Christ the King (3-8) rallied to score three unanswered runs in an extra-inning victory.
“We wanted to show them that we’re a tough team to beat and move up in the standings,” Merchan said.
The Crusaders again jumped out to an early lead as Merchan helped himself with an RBI-single to right in the first inning and added three more runs in the second, highlighted by Jose Urena’s two-run, two-out double to left. The McClancy third baseman was 3-for-4 with two RBIs and three runs scored.
“He’s the playmaker,” Merchan said of Urena. “He just starts everything up.”
The Crusaders weren’t done. They tacked on two more runs in the fourth and scored three more times in the sixth on four hits and also capitalized on three Christ the King errors.
“We got some key hits with two hits and I think that takes the pressure off of us,” Melito said. “I like what I saw today.”
Melito said he saw a change in his team during its trip to Myrtle Beach last week. Sure, McClancy won just once, but Melito said his team raised its level and that was evident against the Royals.
“We played well today,” Melito said. “We played better than our record indicates in Myrtle Beach, but we came out as a different team today. I think we’re a better team.”
With the win, McClancy moves into fifth place in the Brooklyn/Queens division standings, one game behind St. Francis Prep and Bishop Ford, but just one game in front of Holy Cross.
“The division is so tight and everybody is beating everybody,” Melito said. “The top two teams [Archbishop Molloy and Xaverian] are pretty comfortable, but for everyone else it’s a dogfight.”
And on Monday, McClancy took a big bite out of Christ the King.
