CenTexSports
06-12-2009, 10:50 AM
Dad's words ring true for Southern Miss pitcher
Johnston's 3rd trip to Series
Rick Cleveland • rcleveland@clarionledger.com • June 12, 2009
Jonathan Johnston first went to Omaha, Neb., and the College World Series as a 12-year-old. His father, Dan Johnston, also his baseball coach, took him.
The Mississippi Muddawgs were a select team, which traveled far and wide for tournaments, and coach Dan Johnston - Coach Dan to his boys - always made sure they traveled to baseball landmarks.
One year, it was to Cooperstown, N.Y., and the Baseball Hall of Fame. In 1998, it was Omaha, Rosenblatt Stadium and the College World Series.
University of Mississippi pitcher Brett Bukvich, one of Jonathan's best friends, was on that team. So were many other future college players, such as Mississippi State University's Chad Crosswhite and Ole Miss' JoJo Tann.
"My dad kept telling us over and over, some day you can do this," Jonathan Johnston says. "If he told me once, he told me 10 times, 'some day, you'll be out there on that field playing in the College World Series.' "
Sunday, Jonathan Johnston, 23 and a senior pitcher for the University of Southern Mississippi, will be on that field. The Golden Eagles, the Cinderella team of college baseball this season, play the top-seeded University of Texas at 6 p.m. in a first-round game.
Johnston, a key relief pitcher, helped the Eagles reach college baseball's promised land. He believes, with all his heart, he has had some supernatural help.
'You will be out there'
Dan and Jonathan Johnston traveled to Omaha again in 2002. Dan Johnston had been diagnosed with cancer that would take his life a few months later.
Again, the father's message to the son was the same: "Someday, you will be out there."
"You know," Jonathan Johnston says, "you keep hearing something over and over, you start to believe it."
Dan Johnston died in August 2002. Jonathan was a sophomore at Northwest Rankin High School.
"It was tough on Jonathan," Bukvich says. "He and his dad were so close. Heck, it was tough on all of us, because Coach Dan was like a second father to so many of us who played for him from T-ball on up. "
Bukvich and Jonathan Johnston went on to become standout pitchers at Northwest Rankin, helping the Cougars to two straight runner-up finishes in the MHSAA Class 5A state playoffs. Before he threw his first pitch, Johnston would use his spikes to carve his dad's initials - DJ - in the dirt on the mound.
Despite moving on to different schools, Bukvich and Johnston have remained close friends, even on rival teams.
"I am so proud for him," Bukvich says.
Took loss hard
This was no overnight success story for Johnston at USM. He arrived in Hattiesburg with arm problems, which led, he now admits, to an "attitude" problem his first two years.
"I still think Johnny was still reeling from the loss of his dad," said Corky Palmer, the USM coach who will retire at season's end.
So does Sandra Johnston, Jonathan's mother.
"Truthfully, I don't think Jonathan had ever grieved Dan's death," Sandra Johnston says. "I think he was still trying to come to grips with it when he got to USM."
The arm problems only made matters worse.
"The one constant in my life had always been baseball," Jonathan Johnston says. "I was kind of lost without it."
Always a good student beforehand, Jonathan began cutting or showing up late for classes. Palmer also didn't believe he was doing the hard work required to rehab his arm.
"I'll be honest, we had to give some tough love there at first," Palmer says. "I had to stay on him pretty hard, but I knew he was basically a fine person and I knew he was going through a really tough time in his life."
Palmer called Sandra Johnston and explained the situation.
Her message back: "Do what you have to do."
"There's no doubt there was a void in his life, because of losing his father, and I will forever be thankful to Corky Palmer and Scott Berry (who will succeed Palmer as USM's head coach) for filling that void," Sandra Johnston says.
Jonathan Johnston, all agree, has grown up over the past three years at USM. His positive attitude, whether on the field or in the dugout encouraging teammates, reminds those of us who knew them both of Dan Johnston.
Johnston, who has graduated with a 3.34 grade point average in exercise science, has found his niche as a middle relief pitcher. He is often the first pitcher used out of the Golden Eagle bullpen. He throws with a side-armed style and his fastball, while not that fast, often moves six inches or more as it approaches the plate.
His pitches moved even more in Game 1 of the NCAA Super Regional at the University of Florida last Saturday when Johnston pitched 3 2/3 scoreless innings and was ESPN's player of the game in USM's 9-7 victory.
On television, his 82-84 mph fastball appeared to be breaking a foot or more, throttling Florida's normally hard-hitting sluggers.
"Johnny was dynamite," Palmer says. "We wouldn't have won without him."
"I've always had good movement on my pitches, but never like that," Jonathan Johnston says. "I can't help but think my dad was somewhere between the mound and home plate blowing on that ball. You've seen that movie Angels in the Outfield? I'm talking about something like that. I know I felt his presence out there."
Sandra Johnston smiles as she hears that story retold.
"I don't know about that," she says, "but I had a lot of time to think about all that's happened on that long drive back from Gainesville. Jonathan has gone through a lot in his life and he has fought through it with a never-say-die spirit, just like he showed the other night at Florida. I do know where he gets that spirit. That's Dan Johnston all over again."
http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20090612/COL0504/906120347/Dad+s+words+ring+true+for+Southern+Miss+pitcher
Johnston's 3rd trip to Series
Rick Cleveland • rcleveland@clarionledger.com • June 12, 2009
Jonathan Johnston first went to Omaha, Neb., and the College World Series as a 12-year-old. His father, Dan Johnston, also his baseball coach, took him.
The Mississippi Muddawgs were a select team, which traveled far and wide for tournaments, and coach Dan Johnston - Coach Dan to his boys - always made sure they traveled to baseball landmarks.
One year, it was to Cooperstown, N.Y., and the Baseball Hall of Fame. In 1998, it was Omaha, Rosenblatt Stadium and the College World Series.
University of Mississippi pitcher Brett Bukvich, one of Jonathan's best friends, was on that team. So were many other future college players, such as Mississippi State University's Chad Crosswhite and Ole Miss' JoJo Tann.
"My dad kept telling us over and over, some day you can do this," Jonathan Johnston says. "If he told me once, he told me 10 times, 'some day, you'll be out there on that field playing in the College World Series.' "
Sunday, Jonathan Johnston, 23 and a senior pitcher for the University of Southern Mississippi, will be on that field. The Golden Eagles, the Cinderella team of college baseball this season, play the top-seeded University of Texas at 6 p.m. in a first-round game.
Johnston, a key relief pitcher, helped the Eagles reach college baseball's promised land. He believes, with all his heart, he has had some supernatural help.
'You will be out there'
Dan and Jonathan Johnston traveled to Omaha again in 2002. Dan Johnston had been diagnosed with cancer that would take his life a few months later.
Again, the father's message to the son was the same: "Someday, you will be out there."
"You know," Jonathan Johnston says, "you keep hearing something over and over, you start to believe it."
Dan Johnston died in August 2002. Jonathan was a sophomore at Northwest Rankin High School.
"It was tough on Jonathan," Bukvich says. "He and his dad were so close. Heck, it was tough on all of us, because Coach Dan was like a second father to so many of us who played for him from T-ball on up. "
Bukvich and Jonathan Johnston went on to become standout pitchers at Northwest Rankin, helping the Cougars to two straight runner-up finishes in the MHSAA Class 5A state playoffs. Before he threw his first pitch, Johnston would use his spikes to carve his dad's initials - DJ - in the dirt on the mound.
Despite moving on to different schools, Bukvich and Johnston have remained close friends, even on rival teams.
"I am so proud for him," Bukvich says.
Took loss hard
This was no overnight success story for Johnston at USM. He arrived in Hattiesburg with arm problems, which led, he now admits, to an "attitude" problem his first two years.
"I still think Johnny was still reeling from the loss of his dad," said Corky Palmer, the USM coach who will retire at season's end.
So does Sandra Johnston, Jonathan's mother.
"Truthfully, I don't think Jonathan had ever grieved Dan's death," Sandra Johnston says. "I think he was still trying to come to grips with it when he got to USM."
The arm problems only made matters worse.
"The one constant in my life had always been baseball," Jonathan Johnston says. "I was kind of lost without it."
Always a good student beforehand, Jonathan began cutting or showing up late for classes. Palmer also didn't believe he was doing the hard work required to rehab his arm.
"I'll be honest, we had to give some tough love there at first," Palmer says. "I had to stay on him pretty hard, but I knew he was basically a fine person and I knew he was going through a really tough time in his life."
Palmer called Sandra Johnston and explained the situation.
Her message back: "Do what you have to do."
"There's no doubt there was a void in his life, because of losing his father, and I will forever be thankful to Corky Palmer and Scott Berry (who will succeed Palmer as USM's head coach) for filling that void," Sandra Johnston says.
Jonathan Johnston, all agree, has grown up over the past three years at USM. His positive attitude, whether on the field or in the dugout encouraging teammates, reminds those of us who knew them both of Dan Johnston.
Johnston, who has graduated with a 3.34 grade point average in exercise science, has found his niche as a middle relief pitcher. He is often the first pitcher used out of the Golden Eagle bullpen. He throws with a side-armed style and his fastball, while not that fast, often moves six inches or more as it approaches the plate.
His pitches moved even more in Game 1 of the NCAA Super Regional at the University of Florida last Saturday when Johnston pitched 3 2/3 scoreless innings and was ESPN's player of the game in USM's 9-7 victory.
On television, his 82-84 mph fastball appeared to be breaking a foot or more, throttling Florida's normally hard-hitting sluggers.
"Johnny was dynamite," Palmer says. "We wouldn't have won without him."
"I've always had good movement on my pitches, but never like that," Jonathan Johnston says. "I can't help but think my dad was somewhere between the mound and home plate blowing on that ball. You've seen that movie Angels in the Outfield? I'm talking about something like that. I know I felt his presence out there."
Sandra Johnston smiles as she hears that story retold.
"I don't know about that," she says, "but I had a lot of time to think about all that's happened on that long drive back from Gainesville. Jonathan has gone through a lot in his life and he has fought through it with a never-say-die spirit, just like he showed the other night at Florida. I do know where he gets that spirit. That's Dan Johnston all over again."
http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20090612/COL0504/906120347/Dad+s+words+ring+true+for+Southern+Miss+pitcher