Fisher happy to pitch in for Pirates

Senior’s return aids South pitching staff

By: Bob Nuse
   Jeff Fisher was primed for an exciting senior year.
   A returning starter for the soccer, basketball and baseball teams at West Windsor-Plainsboro South, Fisher came into the year as one of the most talented athletes in the Colonial Valley Conference.
   But in the Pirates’ first soccer scrimmage in late August, Fisher suffered an injury that would completely change the course of his senior year. Fisher tore three ligaments in his knee as well as tearing his hamstring. The injuries forced him to miss the entire soccer and basketball seasons. And this spring his baseball play has been limited to pitching, which is a welcome chance to get back on the playing field.
   For Jeff Fisher, the seven-month road back to competition has been a learning experience.
   "It’s disappointing because this is my senior year and I had huge expectations with soccer, basketball and baseball," Fisher said. "To go down before I even had a chance to play a game was tough.
   "I think I’ve learned a lot the past year. It was tough not being able to play during the soccer and basketball seasons, but I tried to stay involved as best I could and I was always out there. I think it’s helped me as a person."
   While his injury kept him from playing on the soccer field, he was still at every game and just about every practice. And during the basketball season he spent his time helping his older brother, Bryan, coach the WW-P South freshman basketball team. And while those were good experiences, Fisher wanted to make sure he was going to be able to contribute as a player on the baseball field.
   "Once I found out I was going to need surgery one of the first questions I asked was if I would be able to play baseball in the spring," said Fisher, who pitched two scoreless innings Wednesday night as the Pirates topped WW-P North, 6-4, at Mercer County Park to improve to 6-1 on the season. "It was up in the air for a while but the doctor felt I could still pitch depending on how I recovered. Once I was close to getting back I developed an infection and that pushed me back some more.
   "During the soccer season I went to pretty much as many practices as I could get to and I was at every game. During the basketball season I helped my brother coach the freshman team. I had a good time coaching. He’s a great coach and it was fun to help him. Down the road that’s something I think I might want to do. I like working with the players and teaching."
   But right now he’s happy to be back competing. And the Pirates are happy to have him in any capacity.
   "He pitched in Florida and it was nice because a lot of the parents came down for the trip and the reception he got was heartfelt," said WW-P South coach Don Hutchinson, whose team played four games in Florida last week during the school’s spring break. "They all knew what Jeff had gone through to get to the point where he was able to pitch and I think everybody there felt great about him getting back.
   "The first week in March before we started practice he didn’t even know if he would be able to play baseball this year. I think this season, because he knows he can only pitch, he’s been a lot more focused and it’s made him a much better pitcher."
   Fisher pitched one inning in three different games in Florida, then came in and tossed two innings on Wednesday night in the win over WW-P North. He allowed a run on two hits, but pitched a 1-2-3 seventh to save the win for Alex Goldberg, who improved to 4-0.
   While Fisher would love to be out in the outfield running down fly balls or on the basepaths scoring runs, he’s content right now to simply be back out on the field.
   "As of now I’m just concentrating on pitching, " said Fisher, who will likely be playing soccer at Elizabethtown in the fall. "As of now the doctors don’t want me sliding or batting. But maybe later in the season as I keep working on my rehab I might be able to do more than just pitch. The past couple of years I’ve been more focused on playing the outfield and I haven’t worked as much on pitching."
   Right now Fisher is just happy to be back on the field working on anything. And contributing to the Pirates’ 6-1 start has helped ease the pain of the past seven months.