May 11, 2006

Cape Girardeau, Mo. - The Southeast Missouri State University baseball team will be without hard hitting Andy Johnson for the rest of the season.

Johnson has completed his degree requirements at Southeast and has accepted a job with Excel, a distribution company in Minneapolis, Minn. The job requires that he report on Monday, May 15, or someone else will be hired for the position in logistics he has been offered.

Originally from Coon Rapids, Minn., Johnson is second on the Redhawks squad in hitting with a .309 average and he leads the team in home runs with six. He has a slugging percentage of .662.

"This is a tough break for our baseball team, but we recruit players to get an education that will get them a good job," said Southeast coach Mark Hogan. "Andy hates to leave the team with just a few weeks left in the season, but Excel has required that he report on Monday. He told me it is simply too good an offer to turn down. We wish him the best of luck."

The Redhawks, 17-28 overall and 8-13 in the OVC, will play at Morehead State on Saturday and Sunday. Saturday's doubleheader begins at 1 p.m. (CST) while Sunday's game will be at noon.