For senior Katie Johnsky, things at Tech have only improved since her successful freshman year. She started in 57 games that year and went on to start right field in every game during her sophomore year. Johnsky was listed on the ACC Academic Honor Roll and made it onto the All-ACC Academic Team in 2013, her sophomore year. As a junior, Johnsky tied for fourth-most triples in the ACC. With such a successful track record, big things are expected of Johnsky this year.
This season, the team holds a 2-8 game record. Both wins were against Nebraska who was ranked 20th in the nation. The Jackets’ most recent loss against Michigan, though a tough loss, revealed the strength of perseverance in the team. Going into the fifth inning, the Jackets had no runs. In the bottom of the fifth inning, they scored on a pair of runs batted in by Johnsky and sophomore Samantha Pierannunzi.
So far, Johnsky is batting a team-leading 0.364 on the year,with an OBP of .500 and six runs scored.
The first ten games of this season have not been what the team was hoping for, but the team has a positive outlook as the season is far from over. With 46 games left, the team still has lots of time to fix their inconsistencies. The team has also played four games against ranked teams and won two of them already. Playing ranked teams will help the team develop as they face tough competition.
This week, the Jackets had a little extra time to focus on practice. The doubleheader against the University of South Carolina Upstate that would have taken place on the Feb. 18 was cancelled due to the weather front that has blown over the east coast.
Every moment that the team has on the field is an opportunity for improvement. Win or lose, there is always a lesson to be learned. Johnsky believes that every failure is a learning experience.
“The most beneficial thing, I think, is that I have learned to deal with hard times and failure, you know, it pushes you down constantly and you just have to get back up. I think that is the biggest thing that I have taken away from softball,” Johnsky explained. “When it knocks you down, you get back up and keep going. I have learned to enjoy that. You have failures every day, and you learn from them every day and get better every day.”
In her last softball season here at Tech, Johnsky is still learning from her experiences. Johnsky’s sophomore year the team placed third in the ACC. Last year was a struggle for the team and the program is looking to get back on track to the success they had in the late 2000s.
The team is still young and will have to replace key players from last year’s team. They still have a more than capable lineup as there is plenty of experience on the team, and they should have no problem turning the season around. In order to reach their goals and make it into the top of the ACC, the team will have to utilize every player’s potential and play as a single competitive unit.
Johnsky talked about what skills she thinks are needed to have a team that is capable of winning a championship.
“I think cohesion, ultimately. The best teams come together as one solid group, and if we can be one cohesive unit and be all on the same page I think that we can be successful in the long run because we have the talent to be successful, Johnsky said. It’s just about the team coming together.”
Tech’s softball team has not lost sight of their goals for the season to try to make the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2012, where the team went to the NCAA super regionals.
Johnsky was only a freshman that year but played a large role in the team’s success that season.
The softball team will be back on the field this weekend and will play five games. They will be trying to get a winning streak going at home.
This Friday, the softball team will step onto the field against Mt. Saint Mary’s for a double header and will play three more games over the rest of the weekend.