MOULTRIE – When Jeb Johnson was growing up in Moultrie, eventually becoming a fine right-handed pitcher at Colquitt County High School, Florida State was his favorite collegiate baseball team.
Now a senior at Mercer and having been used exclusively in relief, the right-hander got his first start of the season on March 18, and it came against the Seminoles.
And he gave the Bears a solid 5.2 innings in Mercer’s 9-3 win over the No. 5-ranked Seminoles.
His mom and dad, Steve and Lisa Johnson, other family members and friends from Colquitt County made the trip to Tallahassee to watch Johnson and his Mercer teammates perform on Mike Martin Field at Dick Howser Stadium.
The former Packer and ABAC Stallion raised his record to 3-0 while striking out a career-high nine batters.
The 5-11, 200-punder was dialed in from the first inning when he needed just 10 pitches to set down the Seminoles.
He kept Florida State and a lineup that took a .344 batting average into the game off the board again in the second.
After the Bears jumped out to a 6-0 lead, Johnson struck out two in the third inning and three more in the fourth.
He retired the Seminoles in order in the fifth before being lifted in the sixth after giving up a three-run homer to Max Williams.
His assortment of curveballs and changeups frustrated the Florida State batters and earned kudos from Seminoles head coach Link Jarrett.
“You’ve got to be effective with your secondary pitches and they were out of the zone,” Jarrett said. “And we continued to chase.
“You’ve got to tip your cap.”
Johnson said he did not know he was going to start against the Seminoles, who were 18-1 at the time, until the day before the game.
Despite his excitement at getting a start against one of the nation’s premier programs, Johnson said he tried to prepare “like it was any other game.”
“The stadium was bigger and there were more people there,” he said. “But you’ve just got to stay within yourself.”
He said he knew the Seminole lineup had a number of left-handed hitters, “so I wanted to make sure my curveball was good.”
Johnson, who was 2-0 with a 3.00 ERA while pitching out of the bullpen, said he expects to get another start.
And he would relish the opportunity.
“I prefer starting,” he said. “You know, when you start, it’s your game.”
Johnson credits Kevin Hopper with his development as a young pitcher in Moultrie and said current Packers assistant Taylor Barber – also a former Colquitt County pitcher – worked closely with him at the high school level.
He was a first-team all-region selection as a senior at Colquitt County, where he also was an athletic honor student, the Spanish student of the year, member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Future Farmers of America and Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA).
He received the Amanda Casey and National Beef scholarships after his senior year.
He spent the next two seasons pitching at ABAC.
As a freshman, he made 18 appearances including five starts, striking out 42 batters while walking 11.
In an effort reminiscent of the the one he would turn in against Florida State three years later, Johnson was given a surprise start against conference-leader Georgia Highlands and allowed just one run in six innings while striking out six batters.
Also as a freshman, he had a season-high eight strikeouts while allowing only one run over seven innings against Gordon State.
As a sophomore at ABAC in 2023, he was named to the All-Region second team and was a member of the Academic All-Conference team.
He appeared in 20 games, starting 16 and posting a 10-4 record. He struck out 94 batters in 87.1 innings.
Against Roane State, he struck out 10 and did not walk a batter while allowing one run on two hits in six innings.
After heading up I-75 to Macon to pitch for Mercer last season, he appeared in 12 games, striking out 13 batters in 16.2 innings.
Johnson will graduate in May with a degree in biology, but is hoping he will get another year of eligibility that will enable him to earn his master’s degree in business administration at Mercer.