Jun 5, 2013 6 min read

Don Hartman noticed the 6-foot-2, 170-pound freshman lefty in one of his physical education classes four years ago and asked the obvious.

“You have to be a baseball player, right?”

Nope.

At least not a pitcher, as Hartman, the baseball coach at California High School, was assuredly hoping.

Fisher has always played and loved basketball. He scored 1,000 career points at California and may even play the sport next year at Gannon University. His Twitter avatar shows him in a basketball uniform.

Yet with his transformation this season from occasional reliever to elite starter, an evolution spearheaded by pitching coach Nick Damico, Fisher has fallen head over heels for baseball, pitching the Trojans into today’s PIAA Class A quarterfinals against Our Lady of Sacred Heart.

“He worked hard, persevered and really embraced learning the game of baseball,” Hartman said of Fisher. “He fell in love with the game. And he’s enjoying being a pitcher.”

It’d be hard not to if you look at Fisher’s numbers.

In 72 innings, Fisher has a 9-2 record, a 1.85 ERA and 57 strikeouts against only 14 walks.

He has pitched in California’s last three playoff games – six or more innings in all of them – winning the past two. That includes an 8-0 shutout over Elk County Catholic in the first round of the PIAA playoffs, his first of the season.

“It has to be the most fun I’ve had in high school,” said Fisher, who needed only 75 pitches to shut down Elk County. “Being this deep in the playoffs and the feeling the games have is amazing. To be able to go out there and lead my team is something that’s so special to me. I couldn’t ask for a better ending to my senior year.”

Fisher had played baseball growing up but never seriously, usually stuck at first base.

“Only pitched 10 innings when I was in eighth grade,” Fisher said. “Never pitched when I was younger.”

What about his stuff?

“All I threw were fastballs,” he answered.

Well, he knew how to throw, right?

“My mechanics were horrible,” Fisher said.

Just what Damico wanted: a left-handed project with … a fastball. A college pitcher himself at California University, Damico patient taught Fisher how to keep his front side closed, how to use his body. They worked on his stride and planting his front foot correctly.

Then came spotting drills to work on location, an aspect of pitching where Fisher excels.

“It’s almost like a video game,” Damico said. “I call inside, he throws inside. With high school kids, they’re not hitting spots all the time, but he has that ability.”

Fisher threw 16 innings last season, ceding the spotlight to T.D. Conway. But after Conway graduated, Fisher knew his team needed him.

He worked with Damico on perfecting his curveball – the overhand curve he was throwing didn’t get the snap Damico wanted, so he had Fisher tweak his arm slot.

Gold, as many awkward swings would attest, was struck.

“He’s still a work in progress, don’t get me wrong,” Damico said. “But he has innings here and there where mechanically he’s flawless, and he looks like a college pitcher. Then there are innings where he struggles a little bit.”

That Fisher is on top of the world may have a figurative meaning, but there’s a literal application here, too.

Besides playing basketball and baseball, Fisher works as a roofer in the summer – not exactly the easiest thing to do when the second part of your day consists of lifting and summer league games for basketball and baseball.

Another Hartman-at-school story might explain Fisher’s emergence this season.

“I came into high school this year, and I remember the first week of school, coach Hartman saw me in the locker room,” Fisher said. “He said it was the best shape I ever looked like I was in.”

The Trojans have a organized pitching workouts: icing, running, taking care of arms – unfortunately a rarity at some schools. Fisher flies through them. Basketball’s much worse, he insists.

“Being in shape … people underestimate how much that really helps you,” said Fisher, who’s hitting .343 with 10 runs, eight walks, three doubles and four RBI.

One of the crucial moments for Fisher’s development came in the Elk County game. After giving up a double and starting the next batter 2-0, Fisher, by himself, called a pickoff play.

Inside wheel move to second, bases clear.

“I don’t think I would have done that at the beginning of the season,” said Fisher, who sits next to Damico during the opposing team’s batting practice, dissecting swings and formulating a plan of attack. “But after I got a couple games under my belt and got some confidence and a feel for the game, I started calling pickoff plays more and more.”

Same as he’s been winning games. Nearly half of California’s (19-5) victories. It’s an ascension that few thought possible at the beginning of the season, but it’s one that’s been extremely pleasing to Hartman, who recognized the potential in Fisher.

“Basketball ended, he was able to concentrate solely on baseball, and I think he has really embraced that,” Hartman said. “The more success he had, the more confidence he gained and the better and better he got.

“He’s been remarkable for us. It’s something I didn’t expect. I was hoping. But he’s obviously pitched us to where we are right now.”

Today’s games

Baseball

PIAA Class A Quarterfinals

OLSH vs. California, Boyce Mayview Park, 4 p.m.

The skinny: With Fisher out of eligibility for the week, California turns to pitcher Josh Luko, who’s 5-2 with a 3.58 ERA in 40 innings with 40 strikeouts and 11 walks.

Softball

PIAA Class AAAA Quarterfinals

Canon-McMillan vs. North Allegheny, Fairhaven Park, 2 p.m.

The skinny: Rematch of the WPIAL championship game won last week by Canon-McMillan, 5-2. NA gave the Big Macs one of their toughest games, but NA pitcher Sami Beining has to find a way to keep C-M’s hitters from driving the ball over the fence, something few opponents have figured out.

PIAA Class A Quarterfinals

Carmichaels vs. Southern Huntingdon, Everett High School, 3 p.m.

The skinny: Southern Huntington lost to Claysburg-Kimmel, 6-5, in the Division 6 championship game. Claysburg-Kimmel needed four Burgettstown errors to beat the Blue Devils, 4-0. Carmichaels topped Burgettstown, 9-0, in the WPIAL Class A semifinals.