REDMOND —

Sandy Fischer rarely concerns herself with stats or numbers. To her, the only figures that matter are those involving wins and losses, and whose that help her Ridgeview High softball team accumulate more of the former.

Yet the fifth-year Ravens coach could not help but focus on one number in particular. For Fischer had only a few regrets from her coaching career at Oklahoma State, where she amassed exactly 900 wins before retiring in 2001. Among those regrets was not reaching 1,000 wins. Retirement was a culmination of coaching the Cowgirls for 23 years, and playing for 18 years before that. There was “a fatigue factor,” she recalled. So she walked away 100 wins shy of a milestone.

But just last week, Fischer’s win total reached quadruple digits.

In the bottom of the first inning against crosstown rival Redmond High, Taylor Smith belted a two-run single to put the Class 5A No. 4-ranked Ravens up 3-0. Taytum Stevens followed with an RBI single to make it 4-0.

Fischer, 65, was nearly certain she would never coach again. She moved to Central Oregon shortly after retiring to escape the sweltering heat and tornadoes of Stillwater, Oklahoma. No one in these parts knew of her or her reputation, but word began to spread about the new Oregonian with the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Hall of Fame resume. Fischer recalls being pursued — several times — by Ridgeview High administrators, who were determined to bring her on as the new Redmond school’s first softball coach. Fischer turned down the offer each time. That is, until some Ridgeview softball parents treated her to dinner, until Rick George, a softball coach himself, offered to be her assistant with the Ravens, and until she met the members of the first Ridgeview softball squad.

“I didn’t even think I’d coach anymore, to be really honest,” Fischer recounts. “I said, ‘Well, I’ll help you get started for two years and we’ll see from there.’ Here we are going on the end of five (years).”

In the second inning against the Panthers, 
Ridgeview began to race away. Eleven more runs came across, two on a double by Katie Salka, to push the Ravens’ lead to 15-0. Fischer’s landmark win was a lock.

“We would NOT be where we are without her,” fourth-year Ridgeview infielder Brook Herrington says of Fischer.

Since its inaugural season in 2013, Ridgeview has put together an impressive .781 percentage that ranks among the best in the state. The Ravens have won the past three Intermountain Conference championships and have won 20 or more games in each of the past four seasons.

That success, George says, has been bred from a culture Fischer created.

“I’ve had an opportunity to be around a lot of other coaches,” says George, an assistant of Fischer’s since 
Ridgeview’s first season. “And she has a way — and great coaches do, which is why she’s reached this milestone — of making you want to play for her. These girls want to do their best for her and the program and themselves every day. She’s so good at getting the best out of our players. Every game has meaning, every at-bat has meaning. She does a great job of motivating, and they’re motivated to play well all the time.”

Natalie Hill was cruising in the circle against Redmond, keeping the Panthers at bay through the third and fourth innings. Still leading 15-0, Ridgeview was three outs away from the program’s 100th victory and handing Fischer that 1,000th win.

“It’s definitely her demeanor,” says fourth-year outfielder Fern Spencer. “She demands respect, she demands honor. But it’s also the fact that she finds that ounce of greatness deep down inside of you and she hooks it and pulls it out of you. She demands the best out of you. She pushes you past your mental and physical limits. She’s always trying to get you to be the best player and person you can possibly be. She’s always supporting you and strives for greatness and expects nothing less.”

“It’s the way she commands respect, but with a quiet type of strength,” says second-year assistant coach Shane Nakamura. “She’s not a big screamer, but she will pull it out of you, and she will not let up. She’s just persistent. She makes sure we get it done perfectly every day.”

Ridgeview’s dugout was alive as the Ravens took the field in the top of the fifth. Nearby was an enthusiastic home crowd sitting in the stands, to which a dozen or so purple, silver and black balloons celebrating the Ravens’ senior game were tied. While the balloons were in honor of the seniors, on many of them was written the number 1,000.

Ridgeview coaches do not like to share stats with players. But all season, that number — 1,000 — was well-known by all.

“This was a number we very much kept track of,” George says. “This was a number we all knew about and was in the back of our minds. It was kind of like a no-hitter: You didn’t want to talk about it too much.”

Tia Burdick entered the circle in the top of the fifth in relief of Hill. Excitement built on the Ridgeview side of the field, to the point, Spencer recounts, that “it was overwhelming. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen 14 girls have as much energy as they did tonight.” With two outs in the frame, Burdick induced a soft lineout to shortstop. Ravens players skipped off the field with joy. They headed straight for Fischer for hugs and high-fives. On her first try after securing No. 999 three days earlier, the softball coach had her 1,000th victory.

“I said I’d stay as long as it was fun and as long as I felt I was making a difference,” Fischer says. “When that goes away, then I don’t NEED to coach anymore. It’s a situation where you’ve got a lot of seniors, and then the next year you’ve got a lot of freshmen and it’s a whole different world. I’ve known these kids a long time, and I wanted them to be a part of this, and I wanted to be a part of their success as well.”

Ridgeview has advanced to the postseason in each season the program has existed, reaching as far as the 
semifinals in 2014 when the Ravens competed in 4A. This year, Ridgeview (22-3 overall) had tied the program record for wins in a single season — including Fischer’s 1,000th career victory.

“It’s really emotional,” Salka, a fourth-year player for the Ravens, says of getting that milestone win. “I cry a lot, but to be able to be a part of this for so long, and to have her finally achieve that, is such an honor.”

An honor because Sandy Fischer arrived at Ridgeview with a decorated history, because she has imparted so much wisdom upon 
Ridgeview players, because none of the Ravens has had a coach quite like her.

“Who has?” Herrington wonders. “Honestly, who gets the opportunity? I just don’t think that’s an opportunity you find often.”

As they head into Wednesday’s 5A first-round home game against No. 13 Churchill, the Ravens look to join their coach in reaching another coveted landmark: a postseason championship. Fischer is not looking that far ahead, though, let alone if she will be around to coach Ridgeview to another 100 wins.

“Oh, goodness gracious,” Fischer laughed. “We’ll go for 1,001. One pitch at a time.”

—Reporter: 541-383-0307, glucas@bendbulletin.com.

“(One thousand) was a number we very much kept track of. This was a number we all knew about and was in the back of our minds. It was kind of like a no-hitter: You didn’t want to talk about it too much.”— Ravens assistant coach Rick George

OSAA playoffs

(All first-round games Wednesday)

Softball

Class 5A: Churchill at No. 4 Ridgeview, 4:30 p.m.

Class 4A: No. 11 North Bend at No. 6 Crook County, 4:30 p.m.

Baseball

Class 5A: No. 9 Thurston at No. 8 Bend, 4:30 p.m.; No. 12 Summit at No. 5 Wilsonville, 5 p.m.

Class 4A: No. 14 Cascade at No. 3 Sisters, 5 p.m.

Class 3A: No. 15 Joseph at No. 2 La Pine, 4 p.m.