Thoughts on a couple of big hitters

But, the truth is, she gets a lot of help. Or perhaps it's more correct to say she gets a big help. That's the way it is when your fianc‚ is 6-feet, 4-inches tall and weighs close to 300 pounds.

Johnsen, who is setting a Honda Award-winning pace at the plate for the top-ranked Arizona softball team, credits fianc‚ Ian McCutcheon for providing a balance in her life off the field that allows her to relax and do her thing on the field.

"With my fianc‚, I feel so stable," Johnsen said. "I'm just a happy person right now."

At first glance, the two appear quite different and not just because Johnsen stands a full foot shorter than McCutcheon, a former UA football offensive lineman.

With a warm smile and long blond hair, Johnsen typifies the California look. McCutcheon has the bald-head-goatee-tough-guy look down pat. Like I said, he was a football player. I've met him only a few times and he only seems to smile when he's with Johnsen.

"I just support her in everything," McCutcheon said. "I make sure she's happy, make sure she's getting enough to eat, stuff like that."

He sounds like a trainer. Of course, I never got a bear hug from a trainer like the kind he gives to Johnsen.

Arizona head coach Mike Candrea said he has seen Johnsen grow as a person and a player since her arrival in 1994.

"With Alison, she's a much more focused person," Candrea said. "When you surround yourself with good people, good things happen.

"When you have balance in your life, then I think people tend to become successful."

Balance does not apply, however, to Johnsen's performance with the bat of late. In the last eight games, Johnsen is 11 for 13 with a home run. Along with her superhuman average, Johnsen has six home runs on the year. That number would lead a lot of teams, but Johnsen plays softball with Leah Braatz-Cochrane, who leads the nation with 20.

With numbers like Johnsen's, one would think that McCutcheon rarely has to dole out mental support.

"You'd be surprised," he said. "She may go seven for eight, but if that one time she struck out with the bases loaded, she's mad."

Ah, perfectionism.

Johnsen is even trying to pass along her skills with a bat to McCutcheon. By the sounds of her laughter when telling the story, it would appear that he is coming along rather slowly.

They do share a lot of laughs together. I hope they share a lot of years together, too.

The world needs more stories like theirs.

Sports editor Craig Degel shared his thoughts on sports and life every Wednesday in the Wildcat.