Jaylen Johnson credits having a strong example at home for coming through in stressful moments on the mound for Livonia Churchill.
And the Chargers’ 1-0 win May 4 at rival Franklin had plenty of them.
The junior struck out six over four innings, but also walked five and allowed four hits. Still, he persevered, never wavering in each jam he created, setting up closer Lucas Brown, who struck out four, to finish the shutout over the final three frames.
“That’s really a thanks to my dad,” said Johnson, who improved his team to 16-5 and 8-1 in the Kensington Lakes Activities Association-East. “My dad has been really big for me because he’s always had a lot of confidence around the house. He raised me to be the man that I am and to not back down from anything. That’s helped me when I get myself into jams, just knowing that I have to get myself out of them.”
Yes, Dion Johnson has poured plenty of wisdom into his son over the years, enough to give Jaylen the confidence to take the mound against the 12-6 Patriots, who got to him early in last year’s start.
“He always tells me to just compete,” Jaylen added. “He wants me to compete every pitch, every day, every battle. Last year, these guys came out and beat me. In the first inning, they put up two runs, and we lost, 2-1. I didn’t compete there, but whenever I face adversity, I always make sure to come back again and compete because I love big moments. That’s why I train and work hard. Those are the moments that are great opportunities to showcase what I have.”
It also helps that he’s about 16 pounds heavier than last year, though that’s more about getting older than his regimen in the gym.
Last year, he added muscle, giving him more strength on the mound. But after the season, he lost that weight without regular access to a weight room. Now that he can drive, he’s in the gym almost every day to lift and keep it on.
“He’s also matured as a pitcher, for sure, from last year,” coach Lawrence Scheffer said. “We’ve been giving him a little bit of a longer leash because he’s been a bulldog for us on the mound. He gets behind sometimes, but he keeps fighting through, keeps sticking to it and pounding the strike zone. He’s been great for us.”
So has the rest of the Chargers’ pitching staff and defense.
Brown pitched just as great, and the defense backed it up with double plays and diving efforts to limit Franklin’s chances.
The Patriots put 16 runners on base. Four times, they left at least two on. Four runners were tagged out.
They had a runner in scoring position in the second, but Brody Gross didn’t have enough time to score on Cooper Scholz’s sacrifice to right field.
In the third, Gross lined a ball that looked like it would score Robert Keskitalo, but shortstop Roman Bass made a diving stop.
An inning later, Brody Burgess’ liner nearly brought home Jonah Greis, but catcher Nate Baron made a run-saving tag at the plate at the last second.
Franklin also struggled in the fifth, loading the bases with one out.
“Our situational stuff wasn’t where it needed to be today,” Franklin coach Matt Fournier said. “That’s why we lost the game 1-0 instead of winning, 2-1. The kids were doing everything they could to win it, but today wasn’t our day to put the ball in play with less than two outs. We had a couple of chances to put bunts down, but we didn’t get a chance to do that.”
The struggles at the plate overshadowed Logan McLaughlin’s outing. The senior went the distance, striking out five, walking three, allowing six hits and hitting one batter.
“Logan threw outstanding again,” Fournier said. “We made some pretty good defensive plays ourselves. We were able to win a lot of innings. … Logan’s a senior, and he wanted to finish it. It’s a tough loss. You remember your 1-0 wins, and you remember your 1-0 losses, and he’s going to have more of both as he goes forward with his career.”
McLaughlin’s only mistake came in the second, when a wild pitch allowed Caleb Connolly to score the game’s lone run.
“Our guys came out, pitched strikes and made some nice defensive plays,” Scheffer said. “We’ve been battling all year, preaching pitching and defense, even when at times we’ve been struggling with guys on base and moving the runner, trying to manufacture that extra run. But our pitching staff has been lights out. They’ve been phenomenal, and our defense has just been tremendous this year.”
That’s been enough for the Chargers.
They’re tied with rival Stevenson atop the East standings, holding the tiebreaker in run differential after a 12-0 and 4-3 split in April.
Churchill is right where it wants to be in its final season in the KLAA. It’s two wins from clinching a spot in the league tournament and three from the No. 1 seed.
If Johnson and the staff keep pitching fearlessly, Bass and the defense keep making game-saving plays and the offense scratches across runs, the Chargers will be in the mix for the league title.
Brandon Folsom covers high school sports in metro Detroit for Hometown Life. Follow him on his new X.com account at @folsomwrites.
This article originally appeared on Hometownlife.com: Livonia Churchill baseball beats Livonia Franklin, 1-0