Ella Johnson fires in a pitch
Bracken County senior Ella Johnson has signed to play division one softball at Kent State University.
The Lady Bears’ primary pitcher has garnered an impressive reputation throughout her high school career, known as one of the best pitchers within the 10th region. Last season, Johnson pitched in 31 of the Lady Bears’ games, pitching in 179 full innings throughout the 2023 season. Throughout the year Johnson struck out 318 batters, walked just 37 and gave up just 92 runs. Johnson ended the year with a 1.88 ERA, finishing the year ranked 36th in the state in this category, and ranked third in the state in strikeouts behind Lewis County’s Emily Cole and Eastern’s Hallie Roberts.
At the signing, two coaches important to Johnson’s career gave heartfelt speaches to the crowd. Former head coach of the Lady Bears, Tony Green, and Bracken County pitching coach John Greenhill.
Coach Green decided to step away from the Lady Bears program earlier this year, but said that although he won’t get to coach Johnson through her senior year, he will remain one of her biggest fans for the rest of her career.
“I’m excited. Happy for Ella, her family and her team. It’s unreal man, that kid is a coaches dream. She’s a competitor, she’s a grinder, when things aren’t going right for her she makes an adjustment on the field, she wants to be the best, and that’s why she’s sitting up there signing that today.” said Green.
Green adressed Johnson’s many accomplishments throughout his three year stint as head coach of the program, listing her numerous statistics and her incredible work ethic.
“She’ll go in after practices and work on her game more, she’ll go in before school, and Ella’s got a great support system. Her parents and family have really supported her on this trip. This ain’t something you can do alone, but a lot falls on her work ethic. She’s one of a kind.” Green said.
Coach Greenhill, her first pitching coach, and her pitching coach for Bracken County also addressed the crowd, commenting on his pride for Johnson, her work ethic and herdrive to improve.
“I did lessons with her for about four or five years, then she moved on to another pitching coach because I had never coached a kid who wanted to be division one. At the time it was a little overwhelming and a little bit beyond me and I wasn’t going to hold a kid back from her dream. I was just a part of it.” said Greenhill, “It’s a dream. You never have to guess what you’re gonna get, because you’re gonna get a hundred percent all the time.”
Johnson will finish out her high school career as a Lady Bear, when the softball season rolls around this spring, then will focus all efforts on preparing for what lies ahead at Kent State. Johnson is incredibly excited for what lies ahead and eventually seeing her first minutes on the field as a Golden Eagle.
