VALDOSTA —
Valdosta State junior left fielder Morgan Johnson has been a pivotal piece to the Blazers’ success on the softball field the past three seasons.
In 2012, Johnson was named an All-American as she helped lead VSU to its first-ever softball national championship. Soon after, she was named a Capital One Academic All-American.
On Wednesday, Johnson was honored by the conference she competes in, as she was named to the Gulf South Conference’s Top Ten, which recognizes the top five male and female student-athletes in the conference.
The honor is based on athletic, academic and extracurricular achievement during the 2011-12 academic year.
Johnson is now eligible to be awarded the Commissioner’s Trophy, which will be awarded to one male and one female at a June 25 banquet in Birmingham, Ala.
On the field, Johnson finished the 2012 season with a .427 batting average with 18 doubles, 11 home runs — 2 of which came in the national tournament — and 51 runs batted in.
Johnson also led the team in sacrifice bunts with 25.
Off the field, Johnson totaled a 3.66 grade point average in a Nursing Major, while also finding time to complete community service, most recently volunteering her time at the VSU Softball Camp.
Johnson is one of eight newcomers to the GSC Top Ten. She is joined on the women’s side by North Alabama’s Nikki Brown (soccer), Alabama-Huntsville’s Mary Kelley (softball), Delta State’s Veronica Walker (basketball) and West Florida’s Anna Stoecklein (volleyball).
On the men’s side, Josh Moshier of UAH (men’s cross country) is joined by Delta State’s Micah Davis (football), North Alabama’s Jake Greer (golf), West Florida’s Sean Gunnels (tennis) and West Georgia’s Stuart Drew (baseball).
The Top Ten selections are chosen with the assistance of an advisory committee that consists of athletic directors, senior women’s administrators, sports information directors, faculty athletic representatives and university presidents from randomly selected Gulf South Conference schools.
The committee makes a recommendation to the league’s commissioner, who has the final decision.
Local Sports
VSU’s Johnson named to GSC Top Ten
- Local Sports
-
-
Blazers take 1-0 series lead
Angela O’Connor launched a pinch-hit two-run home run over the left-field fence, tying the game against Alabama-Huntsville in the bottom of the sixth inning, and sparking the Blazers and their fans along the way.
-
Blazer baseball stays alive, beats Stillman
Valdosta State scored five runs in the first inning to defeat Stillman 6-2 in an elimination game of the NCAA South Region Tournament at UT Baseball Field Friday morning.
-
Lowndes’ Harwell, Wortham sign with Valdosta State
Lowndes’ Ty Harwell and David Wortham won’t have to go far to play college baseball.
-
Blazers host respected rival UAH in Super Regional
One would expect a matchup featuring two of the top softball programs in Division II to come in the national championship game.
Unfortunately for Valdosta State and Alabama-Huntsville, who have combined to appear in four straight national championship games, they won’t be meeting in title game on Memorial Day in Salem, Va. -
Pop Warner Football coming to Valdosta
Pop Warner Football is coming to Valdosta.
The nationally known organization that puts an emphasis on education and developing American youth has been established in the Valdosta area and will begin playing football this August. -
Blazers lose to Delta State, fall to loser’s bracket
If the Valdosta State baseball team is going to win the South Region Tournament, the Blazers going to have to do it from the loser’s bracket.
The Blazers (33-17) dropped their first game of the tournament Thursday, falling to Delta State 4-2 at UT Baseball Stadium.
VSU will face Stillman College, which lost to No. 1 seed and tournament host Tampa Thursday, Friday at 11 a.m. to advance to the weekend portion of the tournament. The loser will be eliminated. -
Lowndes’ Willis, Breit named Region 1 Coaches of the Year
The All-Region 1-AAAAAA soccer teams were announced Wednesday and Lowndes was well represented.
Lowndes coaches Chris Willis (girls) and Jordan Breit (boys) were named the Region Coaches of the Year, after leading the Lowndes teams to region championships and going undefeated in region play. -
Vikings commit 4 errors, fall to Roswell, 5-2
The small things matter in baseball, especially in a winner-take-all game three.
On Wednesday, Lowndes’ baseball team made too many mistakes on the little things. The Vikings committed four errors that led to five Roswell runs and were eliminated in the Class AAAAAA state playoffs with a 5-2 loss to the Hornets. -
Vikings, Hornets split
For the first time this postseason, Lowndes’ baseball team will have to play a decisive game three in order to advance to the next round of the state playoffs.
After splitting with Roswell Tuesday, the Vikings will host the Hornets in game three of the state quarterfinals series today at Noel George Field. First pitch of the winner-take-all game is set for 4:30 p.m. and Lowndes will be the home team after winning the coin toss following Tuesday’s doubleheader. -
Former Lady Blazer Ferguson hired to lead Vikettes
The sign above the door still has Shan Garner’s name on it. There is even a Shan Garner plaque sitting on one of the shelves in the corner of the gymnasium office.
That will soon change, though, as Lowndes has hired its newest girls’ basketball coach. - More Local Sports Headlines
-
