Ole Miss' Cooper Johnson continues his resurgent play in loss to State

It’s not just Cooper Johnson’s receiving that’s been helping the Rebels since his return to the starting lineup for the Missouri series.

The defense-first catcher started the year with elite throwing and blocking but as conference play began he lagged in the field, allowing some of the offensive struggles to affect the rest of his game.

That coupled with Nick Fortes’ emergence sat Johnson for the majority of three weeks, but he returned while Fortes moved to first base when the Tigers came to town with their league-leading stolen base numbers.

His defense fell back into form, and Johnson has four hits in the past four games, including a double and a single in Ole Miss' (25-16, 9-9) 4-2 loss to Mississippi State (29-14, 13-5) Tuesday night in Pearl at Trustmark Park.

Johnson’s average is hovering around .150, but it’s up 20 points in a week, and he had his first multi-hit game since March 23 — the only other one this season. The Illinois native also doesn't have a strikeout in thee of the past four games.

“He’s really (looked better) and I’m proud of him,” Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco said. “It’s been tough. He’s really struggled offensively, and that’s leaked into his defense, so Nick came in and did well with an opportunity. Cooper gets frustrated any time someone steals, but they are not his fault.

"He’s getting much better swings off, and that’s where you get the hits. You get better swings off. He’s certainly doing that.”

Johnson doubled with one out in the fourth inning but was stranded. Two innings later, he drove in Thomas Dillard with a single and then scored when Tate Blackman doubled.

The freshman also threw out a runner and had Brent Rooker picked off at second base, but the umpire missed the call. State drove Rooker in with a single that same at-bat to push the lead to 4-2.

Johnson just missed another caught stealing, as he initially lost his grip on the ball, allowing Hunter Stovall to beat the throw into second early in the game. But it didn’t linger, as he played well the rest of the way.

In the ninth, he backed up first base on a single into the outfield and corralled an errant throw back in. Stovall tried to take second with the ball off line, but Johnson easily threw him out to end the inning.

“Coop throws people out when they get great jumps and you normally don’t think you have a chance,” Bianco said. “He’s playing back to his capabilities back there. We talked about him being a difference maker back there and people are more tentative on the bases. He’s playing with a lot of energy and leading. He looks good.”