Aptos High School alumnus Reed Moring pitched 52 innings in 16 games this season as a true freshman at UC Santa Barbara. (UCSB Athletics)

Reed Moring started the season as a freshman.

By contrast, Fisher-Johnson has only been on the mound once as a freshman and started only once as a sophomore in 2022.

That dramatic difference aside, the college baseball careers of the two former right-handers at Aptos High School have followed a surprisingly similar trajectory this season.

Each currently pitches at an NCAA Division I school in Southern California. Moring plays for UC Santa Barbara in the Big West Conference, and Johnson plays for USC in Pac-12.

Each hurler also shows very similar stats. Moring pitched 52 innings in 16 games, including eight starts, going 4-1 with a 5.54 ERA. Johnson, on the other hand, is 4-3 with a 6.10 ERA in 41 1/3 innings in 24 games.

Both pitchers earned their first college wins against the Pac-12 team, which at one point was ranked in the top 25 in the nation. Johnson scored a victory on March 12 against then-ranked No. 2 Stanford. Johnson struck out three batters and gave no walks. He finished three scoreless innings.

“That game was special because they were my hometown team,” Johnson said after USC’s road game against Oregon State on April 16. “I didn’t get any attention from them when I left high school.”

In fact, Johnson has done well against both of the Bay Area’s Pac-12 teams this season. Against Cal on March 18, he kept a clean sheet in three innings for his second win, also at UC Berkeley Evans Diamond.

Meanwhile, Morning earned its first victory on February 24, when the University of California, Santa Barbara defeated Oregon State. Moring threw six 2/3 innings against the Ducks, striking out six batters, walking one, and allowing just one earned run.

“The first thing I remember is that it was very cold,” Mohring recalled pitching at Eugene. Eugene typically experiences rainy, chilly weather early in the baseball season. “He never pitched in a game when the temperature was below 40 degrees. I think he was probably in his 30s that day.”

The game was frigid, but it turned out to be a much better experience than the first college starter against Minnesota at the Sanderson-Ford College Baseball Classic in Arizona on Feb. 19. Moring allowed only two earned runs in three innings, but allowed a home run with six batters who walked him.

“I was a little frustrated in Arizona,” Moring admitted. “But[in Oregon]every pitch worked for me. I was in the zone.”

Mohring followed that performance with a 7-inning shutout in his next start, against Xavier on March 5.

Since he began playing in the Big West Conference, he has had some difficulties, including a terrible loss against California Poly San Luis Obispo on March 25 and University of California Irvine on April 16. met my eyes. But Moring bounced back from those games, allowing just one earned run. He relieved four 1/3 innings on April 23 against UC San Diego for his first conference victory, and on May 9 against UC Riverside for his fourth win of the season.

“It’s been a roller coaster ride for the past month,” Mohring said in April. “There have been ups and downs.

“Now all I need to do is mentally fix a few things. I know I can perform better against my opponent’s hitters.

Moring has played primarily as a starter, while Johnson has appeared as a reliever in all but one of his 24 appearances at USC. Still, he’s come to accept being out of the bullpen.

“There’s less playing time and more pressure,” Johnson said. “But that’s what I like.”

Trojan pitching coach Seth Etherton said Johnson has the perfect mentality as a reliever.

“He’s inherently aggressive,” said Etherton. “He likes to get out when runners are in scoring position.

“He came in in the big inning when he needed help and got the big out,” the assistant coach added. “He has a tough mental structure.”

Thanks to Mooring’s efforts, the University of California, Santa Barbara is in the top three in the Big West. Johnson helped USC finish in his 4th place with his Pac-12.

Aptos High currently has four former pitchers competing at the college level, including California Poly-San Luis Obispo lefty Owen Dweck and New York’s NCAA Division III Skidmore right-hander Quinn Hocombe. If Gabe Geekle joins the University of Arkansas next season, they’ll be five.

“We’ve had some ballers come out of our town,” Moring said.

Johnson was quick to credit former major league pitcher Mark Eichhorn for developing a lot of talent through the Mariners’ pipeline.

“A lot of guys who pitch competitively now worked with him when they were younger,” Johnson said.

County Ties

County Connections is held every second Thursday of the academic year. For updates on local college athletes, email Ray Hacke (raydhackelaw@gmail.com).