Fisher pitches like an ace in C.H. West win

In baseball, to be No. 1, a team needs a strong No. 2.

Cherry Hill West is competing for myriad titles, and No. 1 pitcher Brenden Delmonte will have a lot to say about the Lions' success.

Yet so will the No. 2 pitcher, senior righthander Andrew Fisher, who pitched a four-hitter, struck out eight, and walked none in Saturday's 8-0 victory over Sterling in a Joe Hartmann Diamond Classic quarterfinal at Washington Township.

The win also served as a semifinal of the Camden County Tournament, so West (15-8) will meet Eastern in the finals of that tourney.

Besides the Diamond and Camco tourney, West is still in the running for the Olympic Conference Patriot Division title and is also expected to contend in the South Jersey Group 4 playoffs, which will begin on Monday.

Delmonte is a lefthander with electric stuff who this season struck out 17 consecutive batters in a game and is headed to the Naval Academy.

In other words, Fisher (7-2) would be a No. 1 on many staffs, but he has no problem with the current pecking order.

"Brenden is a great pitcher and I think being No. 2 takes some of the pressure off," Fisher said.

That said, Fisher, who is an Alvernia recruit, has the mentality of a No. 1.

"Every time I go out there on the mound, I feel like I'm a No. 1," he said.

And he sure acts like one.

"He mixed his pitches great and kept us off balance," said Sterling coach Chris Hoffman, whose 16-4 Silver Knights should makes some serious noise in the coming South Jersey Group 2 tournament.

Fisher has a fastball with great late movement. His repertoire also includes a slider, curve, and cutter, and that is mixed with bulldog tenacity and a long memory.

The memory came from his sophomore year when this same Sterling team routed West with Fisher on the mound.

"That was in the back of my mind," he said.

While it might have added to his motivation, he wasn't consumed with it, well aware that any successful pitcher has to keep his emotions in check.

"I love pitching, but it's the loneliest place in the world when you are on the mound," Fisher said. "You have to have energy but also must be able to calm down, and you must be very independent."

If the mound were a lonely place, imagine the Sterling batter's box, where the hard-hitting Silver Knights viewed a much different pitcher than they did two years ago.

They saw a pitcher who keeps adding to his arsenal.

"He has worked hard, developed a cutter that has really been effective and helped his other pitches," West coach Dan McMaster said.

A major reason for Fisher's success is his ability to strive for more. He doesn't consider it hard work, but instead a labor of love.

So he has developed the cutter along with the mind-set that anybody can pitch like a No. 1, regardless of his position in the pitching rotation.

Sterling   0000000 - 041

Cherry Hill West   010313x - 890

WP: Andrew Fisher. LP Connor Walsh. 2B: C-Matt Giampetro 2, William Allen.