A very strange thing happened to American Fork’s Fisher Ingersoll on the final day of the regular season — he didn’t reach base.
In the 23 games prior, he’d reached base safely in every game — including 20 times with base hits. In that final game against Lone Peak, though, he struck out in all four of his plate appearances.
He had been tamed, and looked nothing like arguably the state’s best all-around athlete who holds scholarship offers to BYU for baseball and football.
Ingersoll, the 2021 Deseret News Mr. Baseball recipient, made sure it was a one-off performance and didn’t turn into a slump eight days later when the 6A state tournament got underway.
American Fork’s junior shortstop went into beast mode at the plate during his team’s six state tournament games, reaching base 17 of 19 times for a ridiculous .894 on-base percentage.
Ingersoll’s father Jarod Ingersoll, who also happens to be his coach, said he still can’t believe the numbers his son put up not only in the playoffs but really the entire season.
“He’s aggressive, but he’s put a lot of time into it. We hit basically every day from December until the season started,” said Jarod Ingersoll. “I think he has a good work ethic, and I think that was why he was able to translate and have success.”
In those six state tournament games, he went 12 of 14 with two home runs and 10 RBIs in addition to reaching base five other times on a walk or hit batter.
He finished the regular season with a .610 batting average with 13 doubles, seven triples, four home runs, 41 RBIs and 12 stolen bases.
He’s a great defensive shortstop as well and has all the physical attributes to develop into a five-tool player in college.
The big question is if he’ll even play college baseball.
Ingersoll is also an outstanding football player, who holds an offer to BYU along with growing interest among several other Western schools. For American Fork last football season, the 6-foot-3 wide receiver/defensive back caught 70 passes for 1,096 yards and 19 touchdowns, while defensively he recorded 92 tackles with eight interceptions and four defensive TDs.
An athlete with 1,000 receiving yards and a .600 batting average doesn’t come around very often.
Ingersoll has no idea which sport he’ll end up pursuing in college — which could include pursuing both at BYU like previous players Jaren Hall and Matt Bushman. With baseball season now over, he’s excited to turn his attention to helping American Fork’s football team to another season.
“He’s aggressive, but he’s put a lot of time into it. We hit basically every day from December until the season started. I think he has a good work ethic, and I think that was why he was able to translate and have success.” — Jarod Ingersoll
“I just try to have fun with it right now, don’t overthink. It can be stressful, Right now I’m just trying to have fun with it and find all my options that will be best for me and my family,” said Ingersoll.
As much as he loves baseball, Ingersoll said there’s nothing like the atmosphere in football, which is his favorite aspect to the sport.
“Football is just a different atmosphere and the adrenaline that goes with it is really fun,” he said.
Building a camaraderie with his teammates is one of the things he most enjoys about baseball.
Ingersoll even played basketball up until his sophomore season. He’s always loved competition in a variety of sports, something his baseball coach father has always encouraged.
Sure, coach Jarod Ingersoll acknowledges that his son’s baseball skills would be a little more fine-tuned if he didn’t spend nearly six months focusing on football, but that’s not the point. He believes each day competing, regardless of the sport, strengthens a player mentally.
“The lessons he’s learning on the football field he can bring those to the baseball field, and things he’s learning on the baseball field he can take to the football field,” said Jarod Ingersoll. “Athletics is great for developing ways to get through life and be tough because you fail a lot.”
Jarod Ingersoll has no doubt that the reason his son was able to stay focused and bat .857 in the state tournament had a lot to do with his composure under pressure, whether those were high-profile baseball or football games.
So how was Fisher Ingersoll able to have so much success at the plate in the playoffs, which included two home runs in the state championship game.
“Just trusting my process and my approach in the batter’s box and being aggressive. When I take a lot of pitches it’s usually when I’m not hitting as well. I just try and hit the ball hard in play and good things will happen. No trying to overswing, just put the ball in play,” said Ingersoll.
With his speed, he’s able to turn a lot of those gappers into doubles and triples. As he gets stronger, more of those gappers figure to turn into home runs as well.
“He’s projectable with his size, speed and strength,” said Jarod Ingersoll.
As happy as he was with his own individual accomplishments, Fisher Ingersoll said his only focus this season was seeing his team succeed, which included winning the state title with a 30-1 record.