March 26, 2018 By Chris Varney
Amber Fiser is the most dominating high school softball pitcher that I have ever seen. Two years ago, Fiser led Benton to a 3A State Softball title by setting a new state tournament record with 46 strikeouts. The Bobcats dominated the field and Fiser did not allow an earned run in 21 innings pitched, including throwing a no-hitter in game one against Estherville-Lincoln Central.
Fiser is now throwing for the University of Minnesota. After appearing in 23 games as a freshman, she has emerged as the Golden Gophers #1 pitcher as a sophomore. This weekend she had mixed results for Minnesota in their Big Ten opening series against Northwestern. In Game One on Friday night, Fiser pitched decently: 6 1/3 IP, 3R, 2ER, 8H, 3BB, 4K but did not get any run support in a 3-2 loss. Saturday in Game Two, Fiser did not have good stuff, throwing only 1 inning and allowing 3 runs on 4 hits and Minnesota lost 11-10 in 8 innings. Sunday was a different story — Fiser threw a two hit shutout with 8 strikeouts in a 8-0 win.
She says she has had to change the way she pitches in the Big Ten — at Benton all she had to do was rear back and fire a fastball or sprinkle in a riser and there was nobody that could handle her. Now, the line-ups are deeper and more talented so Fiser has added a change up to keep the hitters off balance. From this past weekend’s games, the results have been mixed but she is only a sophomore and she has been pitching against some of the best competition in the country. So far her numbers for the season are solid — 12-7 record, 2.14 ERA in 24 games.
Fiser and Minnesota will be playing in Iowa this year — the Gophers will visit the Hawkeyes on April 13 for a three game series. It will be a homecoming of sorts and she says Bobcat Nation is already preparing to head to Iowa City in support. It might be first time some of the Benton fans will be rooting against the Hawkeyes.
Check out my interview with Amber Fiser at myiowainfo.com. The interview aired last Thursday on the Extra Point, heard weekly at 6 pm on 1410 KGRN.