Sequim Gazette staff

From change-ups to a life changer.

Sequim High grad Nick Johnston, a 2014 Sequim High graduate and former all-Olympic League first team pitcher, is helping his Edmonds Community College Tritons battle for a NWAC title this spring and he’s already set for the fall.

Johnston will play for the Campbellsville University Tigers, an NAIA program, in Campbellsville, Ky., next fall.

“It will be a new life experience for me — I’ve been in the Northwest all my life,” Johnston says. “Moving across the county is going to bring out a new part of me, kind of branching out.”

Johnston is a 5 foot 11 inch left-handed pitcher for the Tritons. A sophomore at Edmonds CC, he has a 1.98 ERA with three saves, 17 strikeouts and a 1.13 WHIP (walks + hits per innings pitched).

“I don’t mind coming out of the bullpen … I feel like I’ve been a go-to guy. It’s a different style of pitching (compared) to high school,” he said.

While Johnston said he had a few options for the next step of his collegiate athletic career — including some other Division II and NAIA schools — the

Sequim native said he was drawn to the comparably better weather and the fact he can study sports nutrition at Campbellsville.

“I’ve always wanted to study sports nutrition but you can’t really do that at a community college,” Johnston says. “You just hope that a school recruits you with a program (you want).”

It doesn’t hurt that Campbellsville’s baseball team is ranked No. 19 in the NAIA, either.

With a student base of 3,600 students, Campbellsville University teams primarily compete in the Mid-South Conference. The strength of the program mirrors Johnston’s current team at Edmonds; the Tritons were 2014 NWAC champs, placed third last year and are tied for second in the North Region (as of May 6).

“I went (to Edmonds) because they win,” Johnston says. “They’re serious about it. It keeps you on your game. We expect to win.”