Telegraph photo by TOM KING Amherst's Nick Wilson will be a pitcher to watch for the Merrimack NHCBL team this summer.

NASHUA – Baseball has always been his escape.

Perhaps that’s why the last couple of months have been so tough for Amherst’s Nick Wilson.

His junior baseball season at Souhegan got canceled, and he was left without his favorite pastime.

But Wilson is invigorated now, as he’ll play some outfield and be one of the key pitchers for the Merrimack entry in the New Hampshire COVID Baseball League. He’s basically playing for the same team he played for last summer, as this is basically a non-Legion equivalent to the Merrimack Post 98 Senior team.

“When I play, I kind of forget everything,” he said before a recent practice at Daniel Webster’s Harvey Woods Field. “All the problems of the real world kind of go away and I can relax and just have fun.”

Last year, Wilson made the adjustment to Legion ball, just having finished his sophomore season at Souhegan. Last summer’s Merrimack team was the highest level he’d played.

“It was a hard adjustment, because the players were more talented than high school, by a lot,” he said. “Also, I got used to it quick, so it made me progress faster than I normally would, so it was good.”

The 6-foot-2 Wilson has baseball pedigree. His father, Ian Wilson, played the game at Bishop Guertin and then played at the University of Connecticut. Wilson the son has a calm demeanor, but don’t be fooled. Pitching is his passion, and he approaches it on the mound that way.

“My favorite thing as a player is competing on the mound,” he said. “My favorite thing is to go after people (hitters). I’m very high tempo. I like to keep attacking, keep going on the mound.”

Wilson was an All-Stater (And Telegraph All-Star) his sophomore year, hitting .339 with 14 RBIs, many of them game-tying or game-winning. Yes, clutch. But he had a better summer in 2019 on the mound for a young Merrimack Senior Legion team than he did at the plate.

“He ended up coming out of nowhere last year,” Merrimack manager Mike Henzley said. “He was our No. 1 (starter on the mound). He really showed what he could do.

“He had a great sophomore season at the plate in high school, but struggled for us. But he was great on the mound. He had a presence, he was smart, and he really led all the other pitchers down the line. He was our guy last year, and we’re looking for big things from him this year.”

Wilson agreed he had a mixed summer a year ago, better on the mound than at the plate.

“Going up a level, hitting was hard to adjust to (due to better pitching),” he said. “But pitching I think I did even better. I had a good warmup my sophomore year, and I just took off from there.”

Wilson’s best pitch, he feels, is his curve. “I try to focus on messing with the batter’s timing,” he said. “Making sure they never know what’s coming next, so they’re always off-balance.”

“He’s got a very good fastball, a good changeup, and a strong curve ball,” Henzley said. “He has a mix.”

Henzley also has confidence Wilson’s bat will improve at this level as he’s gotten older and stronger.

“I saw what he could do last year in high school,” he said. “I know he can drive the ball, he’s a gap-to-gap guy. So I’m looking, hopefully (for improvement).”

Wilson wants to play the game in college. He’s talked with Husson University (in Bangor, Maine), Babson College, and John Hopkins, hoping to study business.

Wilson is said to have a great work ethic, something he learned from his father.

“He’s just taught me how to work hard, how to persevere,” he said, “because that’s how you’re going to get better than everybody else.”

He’s had good coaches helping him. He played for the legendary Bill Dod as a freshman at Souhegan, and then current Sabers coach Tom Walker.

“Bill taught me as a freshman, mainly, to not be worried or scared,” he said. “Just know you’re part of the team and everyone is there to support you even though you’re young. Pretend like you’re a senior on top of the competition.”

And Walker? “He’s helped me how to keep my mound presence, and how to really compete on the mound.”

And Henzley, Wilson said, “has taught me about hustle and hard work, mainly. He pushes me harder, how I act, my body language.”

Henzley said he’s taken things slow with the pitchers at about 45-foot bullpens, keeping them at 20 pitches, “and we start working them and working them so they’ll be ready in a couple of weeks, hopefully.

“You can tell the kids who are working, and who are not. So it’s real important not for them to overthrow and get hurt.”

Wilson knows after the loss of his spring season he has to pace himself mentally as well as physically.

“It was really hard, we did a lot (in the off season) preparing as a team, we had a whole new group going in,” Wilson said. “We lost a lot of players from last season. We built a strong bond together. We were ready to go. … Having it all get shut down like that was really tough.”

But that’s all in the past. Wilson has re-discovered his escape, and he’s back on the field, where he belongs.