Pitcher Johnson makes room for Schroeder
After setting two records during just her sophomore year, Noelle Johnson’s college softball career is coming to an end.
Johnson broke the single season strike-out record as well as the single game strike-out record in 2014. In addition to those accolades, Johnson was a first-team Mountain West selection and on the All-Academic team, and just a handful of weeks ago she was inducted in to the Hall of Fame in the athletics building.
“That was one of my goals,” Johnson said. “I wanted to be in the Hall of Fame or in the record books one way or another. So I know that I’ve done what I could to do that, and I still have a year left to do even more with it.”
Aggie softball’s new pitching coach, Windy Thees, said that Johnson is a competitor and a force on the mound.
“That’s exactly what you want out of a pitcher,” Thees said. “Someone who comes in and gets after it. Sometimes she wants it so bad that her adrenaline takes over and she’ll miss her spot just because she’s going after it so hard.”
Junior Paxton Provost who has played behind Johnson for three years says that Johnson took her in right away and she has total confidence in her.
“Noelle is definitely one of the ones,” Provost said. “When she’s up there, you just know.”
Johnson’s spot is going to be a tough one to fill, but Provost is confident that they have other pitchers who will be ready to step up and fill it.
“It’s just going to be different not having her around,” Provost said. “I love Noey.”
Johnson is also having a hard time accepting that this is her last season playing as an Aggie.
“It’s difficult knowing that these are the last of a lot of things for me,” Johnson said.
Johnson’s start with USU softball was a little rocky. Coming in her freshman year from Santee, CA, she didn’t know what to expect. She didn’t know what conference the team stood in, how much she was going to pitch or what she was going to be able to contribute to the team. Leading in to her sophomore year, Utah State changed softball coaches.
“I kind of felt like I was a freshman all over again,” Johnson said.
Johnson said that after meeting head coach Steve Johnson, she was instantly reassured. Softball went from 9th place to being tied for 5th last year.
“Now this year with what we have with the players coming in,” Noelle Johnson said. “I just feel like this year is going to be another huge year for us.”
This may be Johnson’s last season pitching for the Aggies, but she’s not completely done with softball just yet. Johnson plans on staying next year to earn her Master’s Degree and being the voluntary student assistant coach at Utah State.
“I came in just knowing that I wanted to make a difference,” Johnson said. “No matter what I did, on the field or off the field, I just wanted to make a difference at Utah State.”
Freshman pitcher Katie Schroeder says that her role model on the team is Noelle Johnson. Schroeder says that she enjoys watching Noelle Johnson, and it inspires her to be like her by the time she is a senior.
Schroeder’s main goal is to be an impact player. When it comes to setting records as Noelle Johnson did, Schroeder said that she isn’t thinking that far ahead.
“I’m thinking, as we say, the next 200 feet,” Schroeder said. “The next day at practice, one pitch at a time.”
Thees said that Schroeder is the most positive pitcher they have.
“She likes to make herself better,” Thees said. “She comes out with a learning attitude, and she wants to learn how to make every pitch a little bit better.”
Schroeder left her high school in her hometown of Camas, Washington with 115 strike-outs. Unlike Johnson, Schroeder doesn’t plan on continuing with softball unless something too good to pass up comes along.
“I really want to be a doctor,” said Schroeder. “After these four years I’ll probably be done playing softball, but I would be happy just going to med school and starting a life.”
Noelle Johnson said that she has done what she could, and this is her year to leave it all on the field. She’ll let somebody else come in and pick up where she is leaves off.
Schroeder is preparing to fill Johnson’s shoes as best as she can.
— kenna.cook@aggiemail.usu.edu
Twitter: @kennaacook