Transfer third baseman Andrew Fischer is excited to play for Ole Miss and is bringing energy to the Rebels’ squad
OXFORD, Miss. — Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco announced at the Rebels’ baseball media day that Duke transfer Andrew Fischer will start at third base on opening weekend. Fischer spoke with media Friday afternoon about playing for Ole Miss.
Moving from the ACC to the SEC, Fischer explained that he got to experience an SEC type of environment only a couple of times on the road at North Carolina, Miami, and Clemson last season. The atmosphere at Swayze Field played a crucial role in persuading Andrew to commit to Ole Miss.
“You talk about a school like Ole Miss, you’re going to play in front of that crowd every week. I want to play at the highest level obviously, but on a big stage, so I think that obviously played a factor…”
Andrew Fischer
Andrew talked about his mindset, which he displays to his team every single day.
“I bring a lot of energy when I come to the ballpark. I show up every day fired up, but when I play a game or scrimmage, I keep a lot of it in. I let a lot of it build up, but when something happens, you’re going to see me explode. On a big strikeout, when I’m in the field and Mallitz is out there and he punches out the side in the eighth to get us to the ninth, I’m fired up.”
Andrew Fischer
Not only does Andrew bring an abundance of energy to the park on a daily basis, but he will also be playing with some extra motivation after being one game away from reaching Omaha with Duke last season.
“I’m playing with my own chip on my shoulder because it was in my fingertips. I woke up that day, maybe a couple of things go different and I find myself in Omaha instead of back home in New Jersey,” Fischer explained.
In the midst of Coach Bianco breaking down the opening-day starting lineup, he mentioned that pitcher Gunnar Dennis has earned himself a start in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader. Though Dennis is not a name that fans may be too familiar with, Fischer made sure to talk about how Gunnar has proven himself time and time again.
“You talk about a guy like Gunnar Dennis, I think he is very mature on the mound, has good baseball IQ, and knows when to speed the game up or slow it down. He’s the kind of guy who can get punched in the face and give you three strikeouts in a row. He might not be your JT Quinn 97-mph fastball, but he’s going to get us outs, and it’s going to play.“
Andrew Fischer on pitcher Gunnar Dennis
To conclude his time with the media, Fischer broke down one of his favorite moments so far as a Rebel, even though he has yet to play a game.
“I got fan mail the other day. Fans don’t even know who I am yet, and Coach is bringing in papers on top of papers into the locker room, and he goes, ‘Fischer, these are for you.’ I open it up, and it says, ‘Welcome to Oxford.’ I didn’t have anything like that at my old school. Again, I’m not knocking Duke, but stuff like that is cool about Ole Miss.”
Andrew Fischer on getting Ole Miss fan mail
Ole Miss Baseball will open up in one week at 10:35 p.m. Central Time against the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors. You can tune in on ESPN+. Hotty Toddy!
