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St. Paul baseball: Johnson plays in 18 games in final season at Temple College

  • Temple College pitcher Zak Johnson pitched 34 innings in his second and final season with the Leopards. He is transferring to Sam Houston State. Photo courtesy of Temple College Athletics.
    Temple College pitcher Zak Johnson pitched 34 innings in his second and final season with the Leopards. He is transferring to Sam Houston State. Photo courtesy of Temple College Athletics.

    St. Paul class of 2022 member Zak Johnson saw plenty of action on the mound during his 2024 sophomore year at Temple College.
    Johnson’s first action came Jan. 29 in the season opener, the first game of an away doubleheader against Blinn College. Temple College took a 5-3 win with Johnson pitching two innings, two hits, one run, one earned run, a 4.50 Earned Run Average (ERA), A 3.00 Walks plus Hits Innings Pitched (WHIP), four walks and one strikeout.
    His next action came Feb. 2 in the first game of a doubleheader at San Jacinto College North, a 7-3 TC win. Johnson pitched 2 1/3 innings, one hit, got the save with 1.29 WHIP, two walks and two strikeouts.
    He worked 2/3 innings with two hits, four runs, four earned runs, 54.00 ERA, a 6.00 WHIP, two walks and one home run in a 9-6 TC win in the first game of a home doubleheader against Angelina College on Feb. 9.
    In a home game Feb. 13 against Navarro College, he pitched two innings with one hit, 1.50 WHIP, two walks and one strikeout in a 9-0 TC win.
    He got his first start Feb. 21 in the first game of a road doubleheader against Galveston College. Johnson got the win with three innings worked, three hits, two runs, two earned runs, 6.00 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and three strikeouts in the 6-3 TC victory.
    On Feb. 26, TC lost an away game against Navarro College 9-8 with Johnson pitching 1 2/3 innings, three hits, two runs, two earned runs, 10.8 ERA, 3.00 WHIP, two walks and four strikeouts. 
    In the field, he had one assist on one chance for 1.000 fielding.
    He pitched in both games of a road doubleheader against Midland College on March 2.
    In the first game, he worked one inning with two hits, two runs, two earned runs, 18.0 ERA, 2.00 WHIP and one strikeout in the 15-7 TC win. 
    In the second game, Johnson started and pitched two innings, three hits, three runs, three earned runs, 13.5 ERA, 2.5 WHIP, two walks and one strikeout. In the field, he had one chance, one assist for 1.000 fielding in the 7-4 TC win.
    Johnson’s next game was March 18 at home to Hill College. He worked two innings, got one save, with five hits, two runs, one earned run, 4.5 ERA, 2.5 WHIP and three strikeouts as the Leopards fell short 5-3.
    He pitched during the second game of a doubleheader at McLennan Community College March 23, going one inning with three strikeouts as TC lost 8-5.
    Johnson pitched five innings with two hits, one run, one earned run, 1.8 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, three walks, three strikeouts; in the field, he had one assist on one chance for 1.00 fielding but TC fell short 5-4. Johnson worked four innings with three hits, 1.25 WHIP, two walks and three strikeouts to take the win, 7-3, in the second game of a doubleheader at Vernon College April 3. On defense, he had one putout on one chance for 1.00 fielding.
    Johnson pitched one inning with one hit and 1.00 WHIP in a 5-0 win over Vernon College, the first game of a home doubleheader April 6.
    He saw some action in an 8-7 loss in the opener of a doubleheader at North Central Texas College April 11 with one hit. 
    Johnson got two strikeouts and pitched one innings in an 8-0 shutout of North Central Texas College in the second game of a doubleheader on April 13.
    In the game two of a road doubleheader against the JV team of St. Edward’s University April 16, he worked 1/3 innings, 3.0 WHIP and one strikeout in a 9-5 TC win.
    Johnson pitched 2 1/3 innings, three hits, four runs, four earned runs, 15.43 ERA, 3.00 WHIP, four walks, three strikeouts and one home run in a 7-1 loss to Melvin University in the opener of a doubleheader on April 19.
    In a 3-1 loss at Cisco College in the second game of a doubleheader April 24, Johnson had one assist on one chance in the field for 1.00 fielding. 
    Johnson worked 2 2/3 innings May 1 in the second of an away doubleheader at Grayson College, taking the loss with one hit, one run, 1.88 WHIP, four walks and two strikeouts. In the field, he had two chances, one assist, one error and .500 fielding. His pitching totals for the 2024 season were 18 appearances, two games started with a record 2-2 with one save. 
    He pitched 34 total innings, 34 hits, 22 runs, 20 earned runs, 27 walks, 333 strikeouts, 8.74 strikeouts per nine innings, three home runs, 5.29 ERA and 1.79 WHIP.
    Awards
    Johnson was named North Texas Junior College Athletic Conference (NTJCAC) 2nd Team All Conference Relief Pitcher with 16 2/3 innings, 16 strikeouts, one win and 1.08 ERA during conference play.
    Career stats
    Johnson played in 28 total games, starting two games and going 3-2 with one save. 
    He pitched 45 2/3 innings, 48 hits, 30 runs, 25 earned runs 34 walks, 41 strikeouts, 8.08 strikeouts per nine innings, six home runs, 4.93 ERA and 1.80 WHIP.
    Starting next season, Johnson will play for the Sam Houston State Bobkats.