HARWICH — Harwich’s Tony Watson and Dan Merklinger are the yin and yang of the Mariner’s promising pitching staff. 

Watson is six-foot-four, 210-pounds with curly hair, a quiet Midwestern country boy, and as unassuming as most anyone who hails from Grimes, Iowa; Merklinger is six-foot-one, svelte with spiky hair, identifiably voluble, and has a fiery New Jersey flair. 

But the two Cape League hurlers have a few things in common. Both are supremely confident in their abilities, both have a smooth southpaw delivery, and both have a knack for striking guys out. 

Together, the two moundsmen have made several sublime starts, and their proclivity for carving up batters is keeping Harwich (9-12, fourth place in the East Division) within reach of making the playoffs for the first time since 1997. 

Entering this week, Watson is 3-0 with a minuscule 0.90 ERA, and has 20 strikeouts in 20 innings, while Merklinger is 1-0 (in four appearances), with a 1.66 ERA and boasts 25 K’s (fourth most in the CCBL) in 21-and-two-thirds innings. Collectively, the duo has held cowed batters to a paltry .175 batting average. 

In putting up such gaudy stats, Watson and Merklinger – as tenacious as any twosome in the entire 10-team league – have established themselves as the Mariners’ preeminent pitchers. 

“They’re our two front-line guys and they’ve absolutely bolstered our staff,” Harwich Field Manager Steve Englert said. “There’s no question that Watson has one of the top arms up here. He’s a free-and-easy pitcher who fills up the strike zone, and Merklinger has been pretty consistent throwing strikes and fooling hitters. They’re both very competitive guys, and when they’re throwing in the strike zone, they’re very effective.” 

Every team that’s faced either ace can attest to that. 

Orleans was the first victim, falling prey to Merklinger, who struck out nine Cardinal batters over six innings in leading Harwich to a 2-0 victory in its home opener. Watson was equally dazzling in his first outing, limiting Bourne to just two hits, while fanning seven over six sharp innings in an opening week win. 

Another Merklinger masterpiece came against Cotuit on the last day of June, in which the Seaton Hall sophomore struck out a league-high 10 hitter. A few days later, Watson struck out seven Brewster batters in as many innings in orchestrating Harwich’s 5-1 win over the Whitecaps. 

“My main goal up here was to win over my teammates’ confidence,” said Watson. “All I wanted was to go out there and do the job for them, and getting that first win was a big confidence boost because it showed me I could get guys out at the highest level.” 

Watson’s success in the Cape League has come as no surprise to many. Least of all Englert, who quickly signed the University of Nebraska superstar after learning that Watson – a draft-eligible sophomore – fell to the 17th round of last month’s major league draft, and subsequently decided to postpone his pro ball career.

Before arriving on the Cape, neither Watson or Merklinger bound themselves by lofty expectations. Their only objectives were to stay ahead of the count and attack hitters, the bulk of whom are using wooden bats for the first time in their playing careers. They’ve met their goals, because ultimately, what to throw and when to throw it is secondary to maintaining a strong mindset, which is of paramount importance, they said.

“Having the confidence to know you can get hitters out is extremely important in a league like this because if you get down on yourself, you’re not going to make it,” said Merklinger. “You have to remind yourself that you’re up here for a reason, and once you do that, you can just go with it.”

Of course, knowing you’re here for the long haul also helps. 

As a temporary player for the Falmouth Commodores last summer, Merklinger struggled, logging an astronomical 11.42 ERA in a little less than nine innings, and was released after a couple of weeks. But no longer playing on borrowed time, or fearful that a few mistakes will prove fateful, has had a positive effect on his psyche. 

“Being a signed player, I knew that even if I had a bad outing I was still going to be here no matter what,” Merklinger said. “That’s made me feel a lot more comfortable.” 

For Watson, keeping cool and even-tempered on the hill is more of a visceral inclination, having dealt with far bigger hardships than surrendering a home run – specifically, the loss of his mother, Angie, who passed away during the school year. 

“That really put baseball in perspective for me,” he said. “I go out there with a one-pitch-at-a-time and a-one-day-at-a-time approach. I don’t get too high on the highs or too low on the lows. I just try to have fun, because it’s a game of baseball.”

Merklinger, too, is having a ball preparing for the pros. 

“The Cape League has made me mature as a person and player,” he said. “Being around and playing against the best players in the nation only makes you better.”

And they, in turn, are making Harwich better. 

Pitch by electrifying pitch.

by Eric Adler
Eric Adler