Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Johnston Earns MVP Award At All-Star Game

Members of the Prescott Curley Wolf baseball team have developed what many could call a bad habit.

However, locally, this "habit" is more than welcome.

For the second straight year, a Curley Wolf was invited to participate in the All Star game. It's also the second year in a row for the Prescott player to be named Most Valuable Player for the west squad.

It's a habit Coach Steve Crow can live with, and enjoys.

This year, Al Johnston was the Wolf tabbed for the All Star game, and his efforts on offense and defense earned him the MVP crown. Last year, Ross Cowling was the initial Prescott player to be so honored.

For Cowling in '97, the All Stars played two full nine-inning games. This year, though, they played one nine-inning game on Friday, May 22, followed by a double-header Saturday, May 23, with seven inning outings.

Crow said it's an honor just to be picked to play, and for a school to have two players in two years be tabbed is a rarity. Having both be named MVP is truly remarkable. "Not many schools in the state can boast having two All Star players, much less two MVPs," Crow said. "Johnston played great and really showed out Friday night."

The west coaching staff was headed by Dale Mann of Booneville. He was assisted by Geral Holloway of Booneville; Jake Hudson from Clarksville; John King of Pea Ridge; Randy Loyd from Magazine; Bryan Ross from Charleston; and Marty Smith of Kirby.

Other players from the area included: Shad Sherman of Junction City; Lance Martin of De Queen; Josh Schibler from Smackover; Daniel Adair out of Woodlawn; Antonio Gatlin of Gurdon; Coy Williamson from Horatio; Brodie Ward of Bradley and Quintray French, also of Horatio.

Johnston started in centerfield Friday night, and batted in the number three spot.

In the top of the first, with two down, he smacked the first pitch to short and slid into first, beating the throw for an infield single. When the throw got away from the first baseman, Johnston advanced to second, where he was left when the next batter grounded out.

He followed his first inning exploits with a spectacular catch in shallow right center in the bottom of the second.

The top of the fourth saw him get his second hit of the night as he took a shot between second and short. Johnston advanced to third following a walk and single, scoring on a wild pitch.

His glove work was highlighted again in the bottom of the fourth, as he made a running catch in left center in front of the 375 foot sign. He also fielded a grounder with a runner on second and just missed nailing him at the plate.

Keeping the bat on the ball in the top of the fifth, Johnston lined hard to second. The second baseman bobbled the ball and was given an error.

He scored for the second time of the game following a single and sacrifice fly by his teammates, along with the East pitcher hitting two consecutive batters.

With two down in the bottom of the fifth, bases loaded and the score tied, his glove played a vital role in keeping the game within reach. The ball was lofted into shallow center, where Johnston made a running catch to end the frame.

Offensively, in the top of the sixth, with one out Johnston lined a double down the left field line. However, he was left stranded at third with the bases loaded.

The west squad lost the contest 14-10 Friday night.

In the first game Saturday, May 23, Johnston again started in centerfield and was moved up to second in the batting order.

His efforts for this game weren't as spectacular are they were Friday night, with the west team falling 9-1.

Game two Saturday saw Johnston still in center and batting second.

In the top of the first, after a lead-off single, he ripped a triple down the first base line, driving the runner in. He scored on a grounder.

In his next at-bat in the top of the third, Johnston drove the ball hard to first, with the first baseman mishandling the ball. He slid into the bag, beating the defensive player, who was given an error.

A low pitch gave Johnston the chance to steal second, which he gladly took, and went to third on a fly ball to left. However, he was called out for leaving to early. This lead to an argument between the Booneville coach and umpire, but the ump won.

Sliding into first was almost a ritual for Johnston. In the top of the third, he hit a high chopper to short and slid into the bag, beating the throw, for an infield single.

The low throw got away from the first baseman and allowed him to go to second. A balk sent him to third, with a ground ball bringing him around.

He moved from center to right in the bottom of the fourth, and saw no action.

The fifth saw Johnston walk, after a lead-off walk was issued. The East hurler gave up one more walk and a single, but Johnston was left stranded at third, as the East ace fanned two batters.

Baseball is a game of inches, as Johnston found out in the top of the sixth. Taking the ball to the opposite field, he saw it blow foul, narrowly missing a home run. He wound up grounding out to first.

The bottom of the inning saw him field a grounder and narrowly miss nailing a runner at home.

The West team blew a 10-4 lead, losing the game 11-10 in eight innings.

Crow said the west team committed 18 errors, while the pitchers gave up 31 hits and 34 runs in 24 innings. "The team was weak in pitching compared to the east," he said.

Johnston's stats showed a .500 batting average, connecting for five hits in 10 at-bats. Two ground balls were hit hard enough to be hits, but were ruled errors. Crow said he could have been seven for 10.

He doubled, tripled, drove one in and scored four times in the game, while grounding out twice, fanning once and walking once.

He was on base in eight out of 11 plate appearances for a .727 average. Defensively, he was responsible for four put-outs.