Johnson fills big hole for Terrace baseball team

Published 11:41 pm Friday, May 18, 2012

MOUNTLAKE TERRACE — As Mountlake Terrace coach Andrew Watters prepared for the 2012 baseball season, he knew his team had a lot of potential.

He also knew his team needed a catcher.

Gone was Keegan Volpone, an all-conference catcher from 2011 who graduated and went on to play this year at Skagit Valley College. The Hawks had plenty of experience at other positions, but they needed someone to take Volpone’s place behind the plate.

And since good teams have good catchers, the search was both urgent and important.

“In our program, we put a lot on the catchers to call the game and kind of lead our team,” Watters said. “There’s quite a responsibility back there to understand everything that’s going on.”

Watters found his man in senior Austin Johnson. But getting him to agree, well, that took some selling.

Johnson had been a two-year starter in left field and was good enough a year ago to be named to the All-Western Conference 3A second team. He wanted to play the outfield again this season, so when the coach asked him to become a catcher, “I wasn’t super excited about it,” he admitted.

But being a team player, Johnson understood the need. And having done some catching over the years, he had experience.

“It’s not really a position I want to play fulltime, but for a season and for this team, it’s fine,” he said.

Still, there was a learning curve. Catching is an unusually demanding position, both physically and mentally, so there were occasional miscues, particularly early in the season. Meanwhile, the team also started slowly, losing four of its first six games. But as the season progressed and the Hawks began to soar, Johnson’s play at his new position was no small part.

“Coming into the year, we were a little unsure if he was the guy,” Watters said. “But early in the year it became apparent that he was more than capable. And quite honestly, he’s been great back there. He’s done a great job working with the pitchers, calling games and receiving, throwing runners out, everything. He’s exceeded the expectations we had.”

Offensively, Johnson has delivered as well. Heading into today’s 1 p.m. regional playoff game against Columbia River at Mount Vernon’s Dream Field, he is hitting .371 with 26 runs scored, five doubles, five triples and three home runs in 22 games. His triples and homers are team highs and he is second in runs to teammate Chris Hall (28).

In addition, Johnson’s slugging percentage is a whopping .714. Among the team’s regular players, no one else is above .560.

“He’s one of the best athletes we’ve ever had in this program,” Watters said. “He’s capable of (a big) game every time he puts on a uniform. He’s a game-changer for us.”

Johnson has committed to play at Tacoma Community College. The Titans recruited him to play the outfield, but he also knows his ticket to a baseball career may be as a catcher.

“I’ve been told that a lot over the years,” he said with a smile. “My family has always pushed me to be a catcher. Everyone’s always told me, ‘You have to hit .325 to be an outfielder in the pros, but you only have to hit .250 to be a catcher.’

“(Catching) isn’t my first preference, but it’s something I’m definitely open to. The scouts and coaches, they’ll know what’s going to get me places. So if somebody tells me to work on my catching because I’ve got a shot, then I’m willing to put in the time and effort if that’s what it takes.”