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Show r vS?" ; 1 t j t- 1 WMIIIII,,,', f ' '' , ' , The three lives of Bountiful's Eric... ex-'pii--ouple I mJL ' ' ,J , j " i V "V 1 Is ? - :,J - i , - . ; " ' ' y I : -- "nrmxr Johnson, as pitcher, fielder and hitter... rTtr .j -: ; ' I ' ' . l- J It ? V - , : ' " 'T;Y ; - - . 1 i T '" if ! ' 1 I i - I J 8 ; - i 1 made him the Braves' triple threat. b'- Z Braves5 Triple Tteeat I By DAVE WIGHAM Clipper Sports BOUNTIFUL - Every kid who ever puts on Vfi a baseball glove and cleats has the dream of being a professional baseball player. Most of them are in a dream world but for a few players that dream becomes a reality. Bountiful's Eric U"" Johnson is one who has the dream of playing in "7 the big time, at least in professional ball some- J where and there are many experts who feel he JjL isn't dreaming, rf Ij "WE'RE HAVING A bad year as a team" J noted Eric's coach Phil Olsen, "and that hurts 1 Eric as far as exposure goes. I honestly feel that if we were to go to the state tournament and he gets looked at by scouts he would have JU been drafted out of high school. Not a high draft pick but he certainly would have been taken by someone. He's a definite professional prospect" Olsen added, i "Sure I'd like to play pro ball. Who h ; wouldn't?" replied Eric, "but no one in Utah gets drafted very high." )5 j: EVER SINCE he has been playing baseball, , ! Eric Johnson has always been a standout. In muni his youth he was an infielder, shortstop main- Sl fiI ly, and a pitcher. But it's his bat that has earned """ him his reputation. "I really couldn't tell you $43' : w'lat my batt'n8 average was in the little league 47J5 ; programs, I know I hit well, but it seems like jjjlj the averages aren't really a big thing until the 57,s , high school league." Since keeping his average ' as a Brave, Eric has improved each year. As a 57)5 ;! starting player as a sophomore he hit a solid jj jS ; .31 1. A year ago as a starter Eric moved up to J7.5S ; .380. Now in his third year as a starter Eric is ! j hitting a torrid .545. M ! Along with his team leading batting average, . j' agood .200 points higher than any other Boun-tiful Boun-tiful player, Eric also leads the squad in five f j)) other categories at the plate. He leads in home )runs (2), triples (4), doubles (3), total bases ! (58), and runs batted in with 16. .36 Ft' d 5 WHEN TALKING about his top hitter Olsen lot ! pulls no punches. "Plain and simple Eric is the ! best hitter I've had at Bountiful" said the 15 J year veteran coach, "He's what is called a j pure hitter. He's really worked hard at it and 49m puts in a lot of practice time. He has good j strength and good quick hands at the-plate. Eric was fortunate at an early age to have his father help him, his dad is a big reason for him being a great hitter." All the region coaches agree that Eric is a threat at the plate, against Woods Cross he hit a towering home run over the center fielders head. Olsen noted it was the longest ball he's seen hit in high school. When the Wildcat coaches were asked if it was really that long they indicated, "let's put it this way the drivers in the cars on the freeway were ducking when he came to bat." THIS YEAR has been a different experience for Eric. First of all he's now playing shortstop, short-stop, where he loves. His first two seasons as a Brave he was the starting left fielder. "I hated it as a sophomore because there was no action, I think 1 had three balls hit to me the entire season prior to state. It wasn't as bad as a junior but I still like the infield more." This year Eric is also throwing for the Braves, in fact since Steve Luddington was lost for the season Eric became the ace of the staff. "I certainly didn't plan on throwing that much this year but when Ludd went down my time increased." Another difference for Eric is the fact that in his first two years he played in the state championship cham-pionship game, winning the title as a sophomore, sopho-more, but this season the Braves won't even make the tournament. "Sure this season is bugging me, no one has played like they are capable of. We just haven't played up to our potential and I don't know the reason. We lost Ludd and the confidence level went down. I'm disappointed because 1 know we could have done better but the fact that I've played in two state title games eases the pain of this year a little." ERIC ALSO picked up in the publicity department de-partment this past summer when he was selected, and participated in, the National Sports Festival. Eric played for the West squad In the week long festival and helped them win the bronze medal. For the four games Eric was 5 for 10 at the plate, facing some of the top rated hui lers in the nation. His big moment came in the final game in which they were playing the South team for third and fourth place. In the bottom of the seventh with two outs Eric drilled a double over the head of the left fielder to drive in the winning run from second base. "I really enjoyed that experience and getting the chance to play against the top players in the country. Five guys on my team were drafted into the pro ranks. Another thing I liked was the fact that the North side won the gold medal and we beat them bad for their only loss." FROM THAT summer experience Eric got a name for himself outside of Utah. His coach at the festival was from Air Force and they would certainly like to have Eric play for them. He's received letters from BYU, Arkansas, Gonzaga and San Diego State. Utah has already offered him a scholarship and Wyoming Wyom-ing made the trip to watch him play a game and word is they are high on him. Eric realizes that in order to get drafted from college he needs to go to a program that is strong. "Right now I would probably go to BYU because of their tradition, program and facilities if they offered me something" he admitted. Although pro ball is in his future plans they are not his main concern now. "1 never put a time frame on pro ball. Right now I'm thinking of college not the pros. Then what happens after that just happens. I wouldn't bother me at all to play four years of college ball and 1 don't believe I'm the type of person that will jump at the first pro offer that comes along." IF IT SOUNDS like Eric Johnson is a youngster that knows what he wants and how to get it you're right. He's a quiet young man who goes about his baseball in a serious manner. man-ner. Eric is a natural athlete, he also played quarterback for the football team and was a member of the basketball team for two years. When reflecting on his high school career Eric recalls the high moments. "I'll always remember remem-ber the state title in baseball as a sophomore and then playing for the football title as a junior. As for basketball my senior year I just didn't want to play." Eric is a very gifted athlete, a one in a million, mil-lion, that the coaches love to have. He's dedicated dedi-cated and coachable. Some top notch athletes think highly of themselves, Eric is confident yet not cocky in the least. He's a great athlete but more than that Eric Johnson is a great individual. |