No moment is too intense for Crown Point sophomore shortstop Lulu Johnston.
No stage is too big. No light is too bright.
Johnston demonstrated that steel as a freshman, delivering in crunch-time situations as the Bulldogs won the Class 4A state championship.
“It’s definitely just staying focused and rising to the competition,” she said. “That’s the type of player I am. If I’m playing good competition, I’m going to bring my best game. It’s just staying on top of that and not doubting myself, knowing I can do it. It’s having the mentality of knowing I can succeed no matter who’s on the mound. … It’s always being confident and trusting myself and all the work I’ve put in.”
Crown Point coach Angie Richwalski has witnessed that type of effort from Johnston.
“She has an incredible work ethic,” Richwalski said. “I’ve never seen a kid work that hard as consistently and then also find a way to have fun. She puts in all the work. She puts in all the extras. If she’s asking me when practice is, it’s not because she wants to know if she can go do something fun. She’s trying to figure out if she can get a hitting lesson in before we go to practice.
“She’s just a workhorse. You can see it in the way that she plays. You can see it in the way that she doesn’t get nervous about anything. She just plays all the time. She’s been a huge asset to the program. I’m really happy she came in ready to go as a freshman. Hopefully we get four healthy years of great shortstop.”
Last season, Johnston collected two of Crown Point’s four hits, including a single in the ninth inning to plate an insurance run, in the 2-0 victory against Center Grove in the state championship game. She also hit a solo homer to open the scoring in a sectional final against Duneland Athletic Conference rival Lake Central and went 3-for-3 with two RBIs in a semistate final against Penn.
Including those postseason performances, Johnston put together an impressive debut season for the Bulldogs (31-4). She hit .364 with two homers, 24 RBIs, 25 runs scored and nine stolen bases.
Johnston didn’t take results for granted.
“I didn’t really know what to expect,” she said. “I just knew I wanted to learn from the older girls but also make a name for myself and accomplish my goals. It was a good experience. I got to learn from a lot of the older girls, and I also had success, and that made me a better, more confident player. I felt like I was able to contribute when I needed to. Even if I wasn’t playing my best, I was always there to support my teammates.
“I definitely didn’t go into the season as confident as I was. Just starting as a freshman, I didn’t know what playing varsity softball was like. But I feel like I prepared myself pretty well. I play for a pretty competitive travel program. I’ve seen that competition before. It was just a matter of not letting other people’s opinions get to me and just playing my game. Especially during the postseason, I feel like I just completely switched my mindset. I had to know I could do it, have the confidence to do it. I know I say ‘confidence’ a lot, but that’s a big part of my game.”
So, too, is Johnston’s dedication to the sport. She also competed in track and volleyball through eighth grade, but she decided to concentrate on softball as she entered high school.
“I work out softball every single day,” Johnston said. “I love it. I do that because I love it. I love the game, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I loved the other sports, but they were more for fun. The other sports got in the way. I’m 100% dedicated to softball. No other sport has given me the true passion and love like softball has.”
Crown Point junior second baseman Eva Govert, whom Richwalski described as Johnston’s “partner in crime,” can attest to Johnston’s passion for the game.
“She’s a very hard worker,” Govert said. “Every day she’s doing something. And she has a really good personality with her jokes, her goofiness. She has a good balance between softball and not joking but having fun. She carries herself very well.”
Johnston has earned respect with that demeanor.
“A lot of people look up to her because she’s very determined,” Govert said. “She wants to go big — she has such big goals — and she works for them.
“She does everything well. She practices so much, and you can tell. She’s just so good, especially for her age. She’s always working, whether it’s working out, hitting, fielding, anything. She’s always working. It’s just how young she is and how advanced she is, you can tell that a lot of other people in her class or just anybody else, she just has a different kind of mindset. That really stands out.”
Johnston attended several camps at colleges, including SEC, ACC and Big Ten teams, since the end of her freshman season. She said she learned a lot and gained further clarity on what such teams are seeking and what she can offer them.
“I live for the competitive moments, and I want to go to a school that’s going to have that, that’s going to compete every game and work really hard,” Johnston said.
Richwalski believes in Johnston’s ability to play at a high level.
“She’s doing all the things she needs to do to get recruited,” Richwalski said. “From my point of view, she has what it takes. She’s just a sophomore, but she has all the potential in the world to go anywhere.”
As the Bulldogs seek a second straight state title, Johnston will try to build on the foundation of her freshman season. Her growth has been evident as this season begins.
“She’s just more confident, more mature in her ability to communicate, not to be afraid to ask for what she needs out of us, out of practice, like ‘Can we do these sorts of reps?’” Richwalski said. “Last year, she was quiet and just like, ‘I’m just going to do whatever I’m told.’ Now we’ve gotten to a place where she trusts that we’ll do whatever she needs us to do to get her ready. Just the maturity and willingness to communicate is a big step.
“She’s just so athletic. She does everything so hard. … She has a super strong arm and great technique and is fundamentally solid all the way around. She stepped right in, and you would never know she was a freshman just from the way she played and what she brought to the table. She brings such a great energy, and that energy had a lot to do with getting as far as we did last year.”
Johnston is optimistic about this season too.
“We’re trying to stay humble but still work toward the same goals,” she said. “Obviously, it would be great to get back to the state championship, and we have everything we need to do that. It’s just about staying focused and taking it game by game — every game, every at-bat and don’t take a pitch off.”
