Mia Merlino knows there’s always a risk each time she takes the field.
The Holy Spirit High School sophomore was diagnosed as a Type 1 diabetic at just 18 months old, but she has learned to keep things under control with good preparation and an even better support staff around her.
Merlino, a Ventnor resident who both pitches and plays first base for the Spartans, battles the same opponent no matter which team she faces.
“I started playing when I was extremely young, so I’m used to it,” Merlino said, explaining that she played tee ball at around age 5 or 6. “Each year, we go to doctors, and each year we have to learn new things because as I get older, the sport gets more interactive. But we try our best.”
On game day, Merlino must adjust her diet, depending on what her role will be that day and how she’s feeling that morning.
“I have to make sure I eat a certain amount of carbs, depending on if I’m pitching or not,” Merlino said. “If I’m pitching, I have to eat more because I’m doing more. During the game, my parents have an app [on their phones] that can see my blood sugar, so they are always checking to make sure I’m fine.”
Merlino wears a sensor on her thigh, which takes readings of her blood sugar levels while she plays. With the Dexcom application, her parents are the first to know if something is wrong, especially if she isn’t quite feeling the effects just yet.
“There were two separate times when she was on the mound during travel softball and something happened,” said Merlino’s mom, Nikki. “You try your hardest not to be in that situation, but we had to stop the game and go out there and give her a juice box for her blood sugar to come up.”
Both times, she was able to re-enter the game. It helps to have so many people aware of her situation. And with Holy Spirit softball, there’s always a crowd of familiar people, which includes a bunch of Merlino’s close friends and three of her cousins who play on the team. Merlino, along with junior Gianna Bayard, sophomore Alexa Litrenta and freshman Alana Maldonado, all come from the same side of the family as their grandmothers are all sisters.
“They definitely have a connection on the field when they are all out there together,” Spartans coach Dennis Smith said with a laugh.
Merlino’s competitive spirit, however, is no laughing matter once she delivers her first pitch.
“She battles through pitching on a daily basis,” Smith said, adding that she is one of the team’s powerhouses.
Merlino burst through the gates last season, batting over .400 and hitting three home runs. Her first homer came in her very first varsity game against Mainland.
“It was crazy, because I never really hit home runs, but it was our home opener, and I hit one,” Merlino said. “It’s something I’ll always remember from my freshman year.”
Merlino still plays travel ball for Jersey Devils Softball, which is based out of Ventnor, and tournament days can result in long hours on the field. That’s when her parents sometimes pull an all-star performance.
“The tricky thing with diabetes is she can have beautiful numbers with blood sugars and be perfectly stable and then all of the sudden just plummet,” Nikki Merlino said. “It can be so many things. It can be adrenaline or stress. There are so many factors. And sometimes when she plays, she’s just so focused on playing so I try to be here as much as I can because I want her to focus on her sport.”
Her parents also have total faith that their daughter can manage on her own if needed.
“It’s the only life she knows,” Nikki Merlino said. “She’s really responsible with it. It made her the person she is today, and she’s amazing. I always tell her God gives the strong ones the battles.”
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