Hunter Merrick and the Farragut Admirals handed a 4-0 loss to the Greeneville Greene Devils in the 5Star Preps/Scott Dean Memorial Baseball Tournament in Knoxville, Tennessee, on Wednesday, April 17, 2019. (Photo by Danny Parker)
BY JESSE SMITHEY
Hunter Merrick knows there are big shoes to fill and a title to defend for the Farragut baseball team in 2020.
With such big tasks on the horizon, the 5-foot-11, 180-pound lefty checked one item off the to-do list early.
Merrick committed to play baseball for East Tennessee State earlier this month, following in the footsteps of 2019 Farragut stars Landon Smiddy, Owen Kovacs and Ashton King.
Merrick helped Farragut finish 42-3 with a Class AAA state championship by going 2-1 with a save in 30.2 innings pitched. He struck out 28.
“I chose ETSU because it felt like a family atmosphere to me,” he said, “and I played with a bunch of the guys there in high school.
“The coaching staff is great. Coach (Micah) Posey and Coach (Joe) Pennucci have been great to me.”
Posey is the team’s pitching coach while Pennucci is ETSU’s head coach.
Merrick isn’t sure just yet what his role will be with the Bucs, whether it’s as a starter or reliever.
“Just whatever Coach Pennucci needs to me to do,” said Merrick.
Nevertheless, Merrick is already looking ahead to expanding his pitching skill set for the 2020 high school season and beyond.
He’s working on mastering his change-up to complement his fastball and curveball.
“And,” he said, “I’m looking to improve on being a leader.”