Johnson still working back from injury

The North Carolina baseball team had come back to beat VCU 3-2 in the 10th inning, had mobbed the field in celebration, and Hobbs Johnson was excited and relieved all the same.

But he was also visibly frustrated as he answered questions outside the Tar Heel locker room Tuesday night.

It hasn’t been an easy beginning for Johnson, who emerged as a dominant Sunday starter late last year.

His first start of the season? He left after 4.1 innings due to forearm tightness. His second start of the season? Skipped. His next outing lasted 2.1 innings. And his most recent start: canceled due to rain.

Johnson took the ball Tuesday and was serviceable — giving up just two runs through five innings. In any other game, that might have been enough to earn him a win.

But Johnson still wasn’t satisfied with his performance.

“We definitely needed that win,” Johnson said. “And I definitely needed it because I was going to be very irritated with myself if I ended up causing us to lose this game.”

When Johnson left the game after the fifth inning, the Tar Heels were trailing 2-1, and he was on the hook for the loss.

UNC ultimately came through with a strong bullpen effort and some clutch hitting, but that didn’t erase the distaste Johnson felt.

The left-hander threw 96 pitches in his five innings as he worked consistently into deep counts and pitched with men on base in all but one inning.

He hasn’t yet regained his sharpness following the early-season forearm injury, but coach Mike Fox said he’s confident that Johnson will go back to being the pitcher that produced a 1.56 ERA last season.

“He’s continuing to kind of work back,” Fox said. “I think his best pitching is ahead of him, which is good. He kept us in the game today and gave us a chance. He wasn’t as sharp as I know he wants to be.”

But there are positive signs that Johnson could nearly be there. Specifically, Johnson said he was encouraged by the return of his velocity.

His fastball touched as high as 91 mph as he blew past several VCU hitters on the way to five strikeouts.

Though he hasn’t picked up a decision yet — neither a win nor a loss — he has been able to limit the damage, posting a respectable 3.48 ERA.

Johnson may not be all the way back quite yet, but he could be rounding the corner.

“Hobbs is tough,” first baseman Cody Stubbs said. “He’s a good old country boy, and he fights through it, and he’ll be there.

“He’s almost there right now.”

Contact the desk editor at sports@dailytarheel.com.