Mia Johnson leads Archer softball into state playoffs
The first time Archer softball coach Emily Wilson saw Mia Johnson walk onto the field for tryouts, she knew this wasn’t going to be a typical freshman. The first impression was confirmed before that first practice was over after Johnson had lined missile after missile all over the park.
“I was just talking about it with Bill Batchelor, the coach from Grayson. It was her freshman year and she hit a ball and he just turned around and said, ‘It’s a different sound,’” Wilson recalled. “And I said, ‘She’s only 14. Can you imagine in four years what it’s going to be like?’”
Those four years are now in the books, and Johnson’s trajectory continues to rise.
Now a Perfect Game All-American, Johnson has locked down a scholarship to play at Arkansas, but first she’ll lead her Archer team into the state playoffs, which begin this week and conclude Oct. 29-Nov. 1 in Columbus.
“Those four years have gone by fast for me, but probably not for everybody else,” Wilson said. “I definitely wish I had four more. She’s just one of those kids.”
Johnson, who plays third base and first base, is a quiet young woman who isn’t completely comfortable in the spotlight — unless it’s on the field, where her bat speaks loudly.
A year ago, she was named the Georgia Athletic Coaches Association’s Class 6A Player of the Year after hitting .653 with 12 homers and 61 RBIs. As a senior she’s batting .689 with 12 doubles, six homers and 37 RBIs and has been walked 21 times, many of those intentionally.
“She’s the kind of kid where, when she steps in the box, we’re all waiting for something good to happen,” Wilson said. “That’s a lot of pressure, but you wouldn’t know it from her facial expression.”
While there are natural skills like hand-eye coordination and quickness involved, Johnson spends a lot of time in the batting cage. She hits every day, usually about 20 minutes per session, to keep her stroke dialed in.
“Doing something every day keeps me active within it,” she said.
Johnson has been playing softball since she was 4. “My parents were just trying to put me in anything to see what I was good at or not good at,” she said. She began by hitting off a tee and gradually moved up in competition, today sometimes battling against top pitchers who throw the baseball equivalent of 100 mph.
“It’s pretty hard, but you grow with the pitchers,” she said. “My hitting has gotten better as their pitching has gotten better. You’re not just getting thrown into it, but it is pretty hard, I will say.”
Johnson, who earned the nickname “Fire” from one of her club teams, has the ability to come through in the clutch when it matters most. Wilson pointed to a game against region rival Grovetown in September. Archer had the winning run on second base, with first base open and Johnson coming to bat. Johnson drove a single to left field to score the winning run.
“Everybody texted me after the game and asked why they pitched to her,” Wilson said. “I don’t know, but I’m glad they did. But there’s so many of those. She’s done it so many times.”
One reason may be her personality, which helps keep her pulse rate low.
“Mia doesn’t let anything get her too up and nothing really gets her too low,” Wilson said. “It’s kind of perfect in the sense that softball is a game of failure. She can have one at-bat where you’re looking and it’s like, ‘oh, man’ and the next at-bat she hits a home run or does something and you’re just like, ‘Well, there it is.’”
Johnson has grown up in the area — her younger sister, a freshman, is a cheerleader — and likes the quiet surroundings. That’s one reason she was drawn to Arkansas, where she meshed with the coaching staff “because they really care about me as a player and a person and they want me to get better.”
Eventually she would like to become an orthodontist.
“I don’t know where that came from because I’ve wanted to be an orthodontist since I was in late elementary school,” she said. “I like helping people, and I like the thought of being an orthodontist.”
About the Author
Stan Awtrey has been covering sports for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution since 1977. He currently writes about high school sports, Georgia State University athletics and golf.
