Fleischman will be a valuable asset

Over the last two seasons Germantown High School has won back-to-back North Shore Conference titles, while also making an appearance in the 2012 state title game. This success has been due to an immense amount of talent all over the diamond, but one player that sticks out from the group is Blake Fleischman.

The talented first baseman has been one of the most feared hitters in summer baseball since he made the Warhawks varsity squad as a sophomore, recording a .453 batting average that year.

In Fleischman’s senior campaign he continued to crush opposing pitchers hitting .430 with 11 doubles, four homeruns and 29 runs batted in. He was just as good with the glove, committing only three errors in 198 opportunities.

This performance won him numerous accolades including first-team all state, first-team all-league and first-team all-area.

He also broke the Germantown High School career records for hits, runs batted in, and doubles.

His outstanding high school career earned him the opportunity to join the only Division I college baseball program in the state – the Milwaukee Panthers.

Fleischman knew the second he came to Milwaukee that this was the place he wanted to continue his baseball career.

“When I came here I knew that I was going to reach my full potential hitting wise because Coach Doffek is renown for his ability to teach hitting,” Fleischman said. “That really stuck out to me because that is my favorite part of the game, so I thought it would be a great fit for me.”

Not only will he have the opportunity to play for another successful program while developing into an even better player, he will also be playing with former Warhawk teammate, Brian Keller, and former Germantown star, Tyler Thicke.

While there is no doubt that he will easily fit in with the Panthers, the transition to the college game will take some time.

“It is so much different mentally,” said Fleischman. “The rhythm of the game in college compared to high school is so much faster. It takes sometime to adjust to that, but once you do then everything starts to slow down. Then you can take it all in, and it’s a fun time.”

His transition should be easier than most because he is coming from one of the top high school programs in Germantown, and played for numerous coaches with college playing experience that were able to prepare him for the next level.

“Being able to see the top high school players, made it easier to go into college so that the drop off wasn’t so big from high school to college,” Fleischman said. “Not to mention Coach Wolf and Coach Davis were also experienced college baseball players, so they were able to teach me exactly what college was like and how to transition best.”

Fleischman has the makeup and work ethic to be a tremendous player at Milwaukee, but to start the season it will be hard to define what his role will be on the roster.

Senior first basement Pat Wilson will get the opening nod after hitting .287 in 35 games with 31 starts a season ago.

One thing is for sure, whenever Fleischman gets his opportunity he will do whatever he can to be a contributor and help the Panthers win.

“I am going to do whatever I can to help the team win,” Fleischman said. “I’m a freshman this year so I don’t know exactly what my role will be at this point. Coach Doffek said he wasn’t sure as well. Whatever it is I will have to make the most of it.”

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