BASEBALL TAB -- Merritt anxious to see what season holds for Goldsboro

By Cam Ellis
Published in Sports on March 13, 2015 1:48 PM

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cellis@newsargus.com

Don't call Danny Merritt a first-year coach.

Merritt, a Goldsboro lifer, is anything but.

The Goldsboro High School baseball coach, who has spent time at several county schools throughout his coaching tenure -- including a previous stint at Goldsboro -- is back and ready to help improve a team that won a total of two games last year.

A team that hit .226 at the plate with a .349 on-base percentage, but a 9.54 earned run average could use all the help they can get.

The Cougars head into their 2015 campaign unsure of many things, including adjusting to a new head coach, filling the voids from losing five seniors and dealing with an uncharacteristic wet winter.

"My love of the game, my love of the community, my passion for the game and these kids," Merritt said, explaining why he came back. "It's a blessing to still be apart of this baseball community.

The Goldsboro program is at a bit of a crossroads.

With the bulk of last year's team having graduated, the Cougars will look to replenish the well with some of the younger players who have come up through the feeder middle schools.

"We do have good senior leadership," Merritt said. "How successful we are will depend on how we develop chemistry. The upper-class leadership has been there before. But the work ethic for these kids is off the chart."

Two of the seniors that the younger Cougars will look to for leadership are outfielder Jared Howard and shortstop Isaiah Core. Howard hit .233 with 12 RBI, and Core batted .204 with an RBI and two doubles.

Now a team captain, Core wants to make sure he and his fellow seniors leave the program in good hands.

"Right now I'm just trying to pick out and find a guy who can take my spot as a freshman," Core said. "Somebody that has the authority and the presence to come to practice early and leave late. Somebody that can play side by side with me, so when I leave he'll have my spot and do the same things I did."

As for the adjustment of playing for a new coach during his senior year, Core isn't overly concerned. It helps that the two have a history together. Merritt coached Core on some summer ball teams and was around when Core was at Dillard.

"Me and him, we're on the same page," Core said. "He teaches me stuff that I try and teach to the other guys. He's a great coach. He's really what we need because he's so pro-Goldsboro. No matter where he's at, he's always pro-Goldsboro.

"And he's going to bring what we need to the plate."

With the uncertainty that has surrounded the team to date, the goals that they want to set for themselves are still up in the air. They want to re-establish the tradition-rich program that once produced players who participated in the semi-pro and pro ranks.

Regardless, Merritt has the players focused on what they can control -- their day-to-day progress.

The rest, he says, will take care of itself.

"That's our pledge," he said. "To put a product on the field that creates a sense of pride in our school, in our community and in our fan base."