FAIRHOPE – Fairhope Pirate right-hander Ashton Johnson signed with Stillman College Monday in the Fairhope library.

The 6-foot-2, 210-pound pitcher, who also swings the bat well, helped the Pirates reach the semi-finals in the 6A division this past spring. Now he's looking forward to the college experience with the Stillman Tigers in Tuscaloosa.

"I am just really excited to go play," Johnson said. "My family needs this and it is going to help out a lot. I am just really excited to know where I am going and I am glad that it is a nice school like Stillman. They are a very strong team and I think I will be a good fit for the program. It is a very good academic school and it will fit me perfectly. That is why I like Stillman."

Johnson plans to major in psychology. His parents are Calvin and Sarah Johnson of Fairhope. As a senior right-hander, he went 5-2 with 62 strikeouts in 49-2/3 innings for the No. 2-ranked Pirates.

"He was one of our most affable kids in the program in the last four years," said Fairhope head coach Stu Fuller. "He got along with everybody and just pulled for his teammates so hard. If you ask me what I am going to remember about Ashton, it is going to be that."

Combined, Johnson finished his 2009 and 2010 seasons on the mound with a 9-5 record, 131 strikeouts, 79 walks and an earned run average of 4.51.

"He was a fine player and he played a major role the last two years in our 68 wins and the two deep playoff runs both on the mound and even some this year with the bat," Fuller said. "He was an inning-eater. He would eat up some innings and that will be sorely missed."

Fuller said Johnson will do well for the Tigers under head coach Donnie Crawford.

"I know coach Crawford is excited about getting him and they will go to work immediately when he reports to school. You can look for good things from Ashton at Stillman. (Ashton) has a couple of mechanical issues that he has got to improve on and he has worked so hard. But when he was on, his stuff was tough to hit and seldom did he get hit hard. You never saw him get hit hard."