Chasing perfection is a hard thing to do.
Andrean junior Michael Doolin, a junior right-hander who has committed to Vanderbilt, is more than happy to try.
“It’s fun,” he said of dealing with the expectations. “I like having all the pressure on me.”
He has a stern taskmaster. It’s his coach, Dave Pishkur.
Pishkur has the pedigree to slice up anyone. Five state titles give him that right. He no longer worries about hurt feelings.
Even Doolin, who in August was ranked No. 15 in the nation for the Class of 2019 by Prep Baseball Report, can’t escape his hairsplitting.
Doolin is very good, but it’s been a challenge. The 59ers (30-6) play Silver Creek (26-3) at 4 p.m. Saturday for the Class 3A state title.
“It’s hard to coach a guy like that who can do no wrong,” Pishkur said of Doolin. “Then when he does something wrong, it’s like, ‘What’s wrong with him?’”
After a ridiculous summer, when Doolin gave up just one earned run in 43 innings and struck out 96 while pitching for the Indiana Bulls, Doolin thought he could be just as good.
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In one game last summer, according to Pishkur, Doolin struck out 17 of 18 batters. In another, he finished with a 59-pitch complete game.
Doolin wanted a repeat of allowing only one earned run for the high school season. Hasn’t happened, although he’s still been virtually unhittable.
Doolin (10-1) has a 0.67 ERA with 116 strikeouts in 72 2/3 innings. He has been clocked at 92 mph, but he’s typically in the mid-to-high 80s.
Pishkur let Doolin and sophomore catcher Jake Mullen call pitches all season. Last season, pitching coach Joe Plesac called the pitches.
It hasn’t gone smoothly, Pishkur confirmed. He wasn’t happy with the pitch selection in Saturday’s 13-2 victory over Jay County in the Class 3A Kokomo Semistate.
“Yeah, he was upset,” Doolin said of Pishkur. “I think it was more about missing my spots with the breaking balls.”
Doolin was jarred by a 7-3 loss on May 2 to Mount Carmel. It’s the only loss of his Andrean career. The 59ers relinquished four runs in the seventh inning and Doolin was hit hard.
It was a wake-up call.
“I was disappointed,” Doolin said. “I had some punch-outs I didn’t take advantage of. It was a good learning experience.”
Said Pishkur: “It’s like, ‘I’m Michael Doolin. That’s not supposed to happen.’ He’s grown this year. He is better than he was last year, but it hasn’t been like his summer.”
Pishkur said he decided to take a hands-off approach to coaching Doolin this season because of who he is and his great summer.
Finding the right balance has been a struggle.
He thinks Doolin relies too much on his fastball and that he “wastes bullets when he doesn’t need to.” Pishkur said he might have Plesac call the pitches Saturday.
Doolin takes the critique in stride, agreeing somewhat.
“He thinks I live off the fastball too much,” Doolin said. “I throw harder than most kids. I like living off the fastball. I’ll mix it up on Saturday.”
Doolin said he gets in trouble when he misses his spots with the fastball.
Next season, the 6-foot-3, 200-pound Doolin would like to hit 95 mph and get stronger. But for now, though, he’s focused on Silver Creek.
His message for the 59ers?
Don’t worry. Everything is going to be fine.
“I’ve been dying to do this,” he said of pitching in a state championship game. “It’s something I’ve dreamed about since I saw my brother (Matt) and Adam Norton play in it.
“Once the adrenaline and emotion start, I’ll be OK.”