St. Paul baseball: Johnson sees time on mound in over two dozen games for SHSU

Sam Houston State University senior and St. Paul grad Zak Johnson got 27 appearances during the 2026 season.
Johnson’s first action came on Feb. 14 in the second game of a three-game series at McNeese State. He pitched 1 1/3 innings, one hit, two strikeouts, threw 20 pitches and had an Earned Run Average (ERA) of 0.00 for the game as Sam Houston State won 11-2.
In the Feb. 17 away game at Houston Christian University, the Bearkats won 4-3 as Johnson pitched 1 2/3 innings, one hit, four strikeouts, 31 pitches, an 0.00 ERA and was the winning pitcher.
In the second game of a three-game series against University of Illinois Chicago on Feb. 21 at home, SHSU fell 2-1 as he allowed one hit, struck out two, threw 15 pitches with 0.00 ERA and had one assist on one chance in the field and 1.000 fielding.
Johnson played in the series closer, working 1 1/3 innings with one hit, one strikeout, 19 pitches and 0.00 ERA in the ‘Kats 6-4 win.
Johnson played in the opener of a three-game series at Oklahoma State on Feb. 27 with SHSU losing 5-1. He worked 2/3 innings, two hits, two runs, two earned runs, two strikeouts, 11 pitches and a 27.00 ERA.
Johnson pitched one inning with one hit, one wild pitch, one batter hit, 13 pitches, 0.00 ERA and got a save as the ‘Kats defeated Prairie View 4-1 at home on March 3 in the opener of a three-game series. 
In the field, he caught one runner stealing base.
In a 7-4 win at Lamar University on March 17, he pitched 2 1/3 innings with two hits, one run, 24 pitches, ERA 0.00 and was the winning pitcher in a 7-4 SHSU win.
In the first game of a three-game series March 20 at Florida International University, the Kats won 3-2 with Johnson pitching two frames, two strikeouts, one batter hit, 37 pitching, 0.00 ERA and one save. In the field, he had one putout and one assist on two chances, 1.000 fielding and one stolen base attempt.
He also pitched in the series closer on March 22, going one inning, two strikeouts, 17 pitches and 0.00 ERA in SHSU’s 7-1 win.
In the 7-5 road win against University of Texas-Arlington on March 24, Johnson worked one inning, one walk, two strikeouts, 16 pitches, 0.00 ERA and earned a save.
Johnson played in the third game of a three-game series at home against Western Kentucky University, an 8-2 loss for the Kats. He pitched two innings, four hits, one run, one earned runs, two strikeouts, one double, one home run, 40 pitches and 4.50 ERA.
In the field with Johnson on the mound, WKU had one stolen base attempt and one runner caught stealing.
On March 31, SHSU lost 16-2 at Texas A&M and he worked one inning, two hits, one strikeout, two wild pitches, 15 pitches, 0.00 ERA. In the field, he had one assist on one chance for 1.00 fielding.
In the opener of a three-game series at Missouri State on April 3, Johnson ceded one hit, one run, one earned run, one home run, one pitch, was the losing pitcher and had a 99.00 ERA as the Kats lost a close one 9-8.
He played in the closing game on April 5, pitching one inning, two hits, two runs, one earned run, one walk, one strikeout, one double. 27 pitches and 9.00 ERA as SHSU took one on the chin 12-0.
Johnson pitched 2/3 innings with one hit, one run, one earned run, three walks, one wild pitch, one intentional walk, 23 pitches and 13.50 ERA in the Kats’ 5-4 loss at home to Houston on April 7.
In the first game of a three-game series at home to Dallas Baptist University, he worked 2/3 innings and had a 0.00 ERA on five pitches as DBU won 6-4.
Johnson pitched two innings, two hits, three runs, two earned runs, two walks, one strikeout, one home run, 41 pitches, had a 9.00 ERA and took the loss in a 5-4 setback. In the field, he had one chance, one putout, 1.000 fielding and one stolen base attempt.
In the opener of a three-game series at New Mexico State on April 17, he pitched for three innings with two hits, one run, one earned run, one walk, two strikeouts, one wild pitch, one batter hit, 46 pitches, one save and 3.00 ERA; in the field, he had one chance, one assist, 1.000 fielding and one stole base attempt. SHUS won the game 8-7.
The Kats defeated NMSU 12-10 in the closer on April 19 with Johnson going one inning on the mound, two hits, one run, one earned run, one strikeout, one triple, 16 pitches and 9.00 ERA.
In the opener of a three-game series at home to Middle Tennessee State University, Johnson worked one inning, three hits, three runs, three earned runs, one walk, one double, 20 pitches and 27.00 ERA as the Kats took a 6-3 win.
On April 28, SHSU played at Texas with Johnson pitching one inning with one hit, one strikeout, one double on 17 pitches and a 0.00 ERA; in the field, UT had one stolen base attempt with Johnson on the mound. The Longhorns won 15-14.
In the second game of a three-game series on May 2 at Kennesaw State, he pitched 1/3 innings, one hit, one run, one earned run, one walk, one strikeout, one home run, 11 pitches, 27.00 ERA and was the losing pitcher in a 7-6 loss.
In 15-14 loss at Lamar University on May 5, he worked 1/3 innings with two hits, two runs, two earned runs, three walks, one home run, 27 pitches and 54.00 ERA.
In the third game of a three-game series May 10 against Delaware at home, Johnson pitched one inning, one walk, one strike, 26 pitches and 0.00 ERA in an 8-1 Kat win.
In 14-13 win over Louisiana Tech May 20 in Kennesaw, Ga in the Conference USA tournament, Johnson pitched one inning, three hits, two runs, one double, 32 pitches and 0.00 ERA.
The next day, SHSU fell to Liberty 10-4  to conclude the season with Johnson working 1/3 innings, one pitch and a 0.00 ERA.
The Kats went 14-13 in the games Johnson appeared in. 
On the mound, he pitched 30 2/3 innings, 36 hits, 21 runs, 16 earned runs, 14 walks, 30 strikeouts, six doubles, one triple, five home runs, five wild pitches, three batters hit, one intentional walk, 570 total pitches, a 2-3 record, five saves and a 4.70 season ERA.
In the field, he had six chances, two putouts, four assists, 1.000 fielding, six stole-base attempts and two caught stealing.