He may be the most anonymous undefeated pitcher in the state of Georgia, but that’s perfectly all right with Tim Johnson.
The Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe junior right-hander improved to 8-0 Thursday with a typical performance against LaFayette. The Hixson transfer gave up eight hits and struck out only four batters, but he went the distance, allowed no earned runs and played all out, as usual.
Take, for instance, the fourth inning with LFO holding a 3-0 lead in a game the Warriors had to have to maintain playoff hopes. The Ramblers had runners on third and second with two out when a pitch got away from catcher Aaron Legg, who retrieved the ball and threw it to a charging Johnson. The pitcher dove and in one motion caught the ball and tagged out the runner to end the threat.
“Tim’s just a competitor, a bulldog on the mound,” LFO coach Brad Langford said. “He just goes right at people, nothing fancy, but he’s been great for us.”
This isn’t a case of a coach desperate for starting pitching asking a kid to come play for him. Langford admitted he didn’t know Johnson before the start of practice this year.
“I didn’t know who he was,” Langford said with a laugh. “He showed up the first day and said he played baseball, so I said, ‘Great, come on out.’ Since then I can definitely say he’s been a pleasant surprise. He’s been a big part of what we’ve been able to do.
“When you’re throwing strikes and forcing contact, it’s easy to play good defense behind you. He’s a very athletic kid; he can play anywhere. He’s 8-0 on the mound and hitting .360. You can’t ask for anything more than that.”
Johnson doesn’t throw 90 mph (he might reach the low 80s). He doesn’t have a devastating curve or a tantalizing changeup. What he does is throw strikes and dare a batter to hit it. If it does get hit, he forgets about it and turns his attention to the next batter.
“With me, I just go after them,” the unassuming junior said. “I’m not going to try to pitch around somebody, no matter who they are. If they hit it, oh well, I’ll get the next guy. I guess you call it a bulldog mentality. I know if they hit it, I have a good defense behind me.”
Johnson’s only regret is he won’t be on the mound today when the Warriors face a hot Carrollton team with a playoff berth on the line. A win for LFO locks up the fourth spot from Region 6-AAA. A loss and a Heritage win would make the upstart Generals the fourth seed. Carrollton (19-6, 11-2) recently ended Cartersville’s 57-game region winning streak and will be the region’s second seed, so the task won’t be an easy one.
Johnson, as confident as he is anonymous, believes his team is up for it.
“We’ve got to win, for sure,” he said. “I’m not sure what our plan is for the mound, but we can get it done.”
n The rest of the area’s Georgia playoff teams are set, with Dalton and Calhoun earning top seeds in Region’s 7-AAAA and 7-AA, respectively. Chattooga will be the third seed from 7-AA, and Gordon Lee will be either the third or fourth seed from 6-A depending on today’s action. The GHSA playoffs begin next Friday with each best-of-three series at the higher seed.