LORMAN &045; Trey Johnson warmed up with everyone else to start Thursday’s practice, and then he took to the fence and started running.

He’s been through this before.

Johnson, a standout guard for the Alcorn basketball team, is in his first week with the Braves’ baseball squad this week as pitcher. And the 6-4 right-hander is behind everyone else after he pitched in his first game of the season on Tuesday, a 12-0 pounding at the hands of Southern University.

But Johnson, a 30th-round draft pick by the Kansas City Royals out of high school, knows he’s got a ways to go before showing what he’s capable of doing. He’ll likely throw again Saturday when the Braves host Rust College in a non-conference doubleheader.

&uot;It’s pretty sore right now,&uot; Johnson said two days after throwing 1 2/3 innings of relief against the Jags. &uot;I’m in shape, but I’ve got to get my legs under me. With pitching, it’s pretty much a full-body exercise. I came out here once the (basketball) season was over. But I had been throwing a little bit on and off when I had some free time.&uot;

Johnson’s line in Tuesday’s game, of course, was nothing the Jackson native could write home about. He surrendered four hits, two unearned runs and one earned run while walking two and striking out two.

The right-hander was able to get the fastball &045; his signature pitch &045; going but just couldn’t get in any rhythm in his first outing of the season.

&uot;He did pretty good, but of course he’s rusty right now,&uot; Alcorn head coach Willie &uot;Rat&uot; McGowan said. &uot;It’s going to take him a while to get him arm in shape. He’s got a lot going for himself, but what he’s got to do is get his arm in shape. It’ll take him a little time so he can pitch a seven- or nine-inning ball game. But I’m just tickled to death we got him.&uot;

McGowan and his staff might be welcoming the hard thrower with open arms after the team lost all four of its weekend starters from a season ago. Johnson, who can ring up 90 on the radar gun, is hoping to up his stock on the diamond so he could possibly get drafted again but in a higher round.

Johnson, who prepped at Murrah before playing basketball and baseball for a season at Northeast Mississippi Community College, knows he’s got a ways to go after getting that first taste of Division I baseball Tuesday by throwing 37 pitches.

&uot;It’s a little tiring, but it’s something I’ve been doing for a long time,&uot; Johnson said. &uot;The fastball was good. I just have to work on my mechanics. My mechanics are a little out of whack. I have to fine-tune my offspeed pitches and work on them. I’d say (it’ll take) a good two weeks &045; coming out and throwing on the side, running on the baseball field and working on the mound. Two weeks of that, and I’ll be good.&uot;

McGowan said Johnson will likely throw Saturday in the doubleheader against Rust, and the long-term goal is to make him a weekend starter for SWAC games. The Braves have relied on a rotation of Torry Bates, Jermaine Clarke, Micah Finch and Patrick Long for conference doubleheader, but Johnson could bring another dimension the team doesn’t have with his fastball.

On a good day, Johnson said, he can hit low 90s on the gun. McGowan said he’s already the hardest thrower on the team. The Braves’ schedule can give him a chance to work in a hurry with the non-conference weekend as the only scheduled action before the Braves face Jackson State the following weekend in SWAC play.

&uot;I’m trying to add a little bit more miles per hour &045; add a mile or two on it,&uot; Johnson said. &uot;I’m trying to just get a little more on the consistency level. I’ll come with the changeup to keep the hitter off balance.&uot;

Said McGowan: &uot;Really, that’s the only two pitches you need in baseball. If you’ve got a fastball in the 90s and a good changeup, you can get by with that. They get by in the pros with that. So you know he’ll have success in this league.&uot;

Once Johnson gets his arm ready to go, he’ll be able supplement a staff that’s already being pieced together. Bates, the team’s regular first baseman, has stepped in and emerged as the top pitcher with a 3.67 ERA and 4-0 mark with Clark as the No. 2 starter with a 2.66 ERA and 2-2 record.

But like the Braves’ weekend series with Mississippi Valley last week, it really wasn’t about the pitching. Errors hurt them and allowed the Delta Devils to take three of four and command of the SWAC’s East Division.

NOTES &045; Alcorn is going back to review McGowan’s career record as head coach and said the veteran skipper has not won 600 games. Sports information Tyrone Broxton said McGowan had 572 wins coming into this season after previous SID Peter Forest said reported the coach’s 600th win at the start of last season. &uot;I’m not sure,&uot; Broxton said. &uot;It may be right. It’s a shame.&uot;