Last Thursday afternoon, veteran Memorial baseball coach Tony Ferrainolo called his sophomore pitcher, Mercedes Nunez, into his office.
Nunez, who wants to be known by her full name of Mercedes and no longer be called Mercy, was the first female to ever play varsity baseball at Memorial as a freshman a year ago. She received a few chances to pitch, but never had a chance to make history by starting a varsity game on the mound.
Nunez had no idea what to think when Ferrainolo called her into his office, before the Tigers were about to play Snyder.
"I told her to take a look at the lineup card, to see if everything was alright with it," said Ferrainolo, knowing all along that he was to finally give Nunez her big chance to start a varsity game. "She just gave me a big smile. I asked her, ‘What can you give me?’ And she said, ‘I can give you five innings.’"
Nunez was beginning to wonder if she would ever get a chance to pitch her own game for the Tigers. Sure, the novelty of being a girl pitching against the boys on the varsity level was now old hat, after Nunez had pitched several innings in relief. But this was the big time – her own start.
"I was finally getting a start," Nunez said. "I had no idea it was coming. I thought I wasn’t going to get the chance. We were getting to the end of the season and I thought that the chances had passed me by. No one was telling me anything, until I went into his [Ferrainolo’s] office."
"I figured she deserved the start," Ferrainolo said. "Mercedes has been with us for two years and she’s pitched well for us. Plus, we were in a position where we had several games in a row, like five games in five days. So we needed another pitcher to come in and do the job. I felt that she could do it."
Sure enough, Nunez rewarded her coach’s faith by pitching five solid innings, allowing just four hits in a 14-3 victory over Snyder. Sure enough, Nunez became the first female to ever start and win a high school varsity baseball game in Hudson County history.
"The first inning, I was really nervous," Nunez said. "But then, I got into the swing of things."
Nunez was asked if the Snyder players reacted any differently, knowing full well that they were facing a girl on the mound.
"At first, they weren’t saying anything," Nunez said. "But after we got a big lead, they were saying that they didn’t want to get 10-run ruled by a girl [meaning the game would end after five innings if Memorial had a 10-run lead, which happened]. I just was hitting my spots. My fastball was really working well."
Ferrainolo and pitching coach Jack Nagurka have worked with Nunez to give her a repertoire of four different pitches to use – a fastball, curve, changeup and split-finger fastball (splitter).
"She’s been willing to work and willing to learn," Ferrainolo said. "She has the mindset that she goes out to the mound to get people out. That’s how she is. She’s great to have around. When she’s not pitching, she’s usually doing our pitching charts. But she’s going to stay with us. She’s been with us for two years and I feel comfortable having her with us."
Added Ferrainolo, "Her teammates feel confident that she can throw. And she’s a capable varsity pitcher. That’s good enough for me."
Nunez, who is also a fine volleyball player in the fall and a basketball player in the winter [strictly playing with and against girls], said that she gave some thought to perhaps quitting baseball.
"But I’m glad I stuck with it," Nunez said. "I’m very proud to have accomplished this. I think this is something I’ll be able to tell my grandchildren about."
And about the name change?
"She was talking to me the other day and said, ‘Coach, my real name is Mercedes, not Mercy,’" Ferrainolo said. "She said she would like to be called Mercedes."
"Every plaque or award I have has the name Mercy on it," Nunez said. "My mother wants me to be Mercedes. That’s my name. But it’s still me."
And even with the name Mercedes Nunez, she’s still making history. – Jim Hague