SOUTHEAST'S JOHNSON WINS TOURNEY MVP

Jeremy Johnson is a humble young man who doesn't seem to be hung up on personal accomplishments as long as his team does well.

But Southeast Missouri State University's sophomore center fielder got to experience the best of both worlds Saturday.

Not only did the Indians win the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament championship, but Johnson was named the tourney's most valuable player.

Asked if he thought he might have a chance to win the MVP honor, Johnson said, "It's something you don't play for. You just play hard and try to do whatever you can for the team."

But a grinning Johnson did add, "I'm happy to get it."

Nobody could dispute Johnson's worth in claiming the honor.

The former Egyptian (Ill.) High and Cape Girardeau American Legion standout had a spectacular tournament, hitting .588 (10-for-17) with a home run, four doubles, six runs scored and nine runs batted in. Johnson also had a strong defensive tourney.

"Jeremy is unbelievable," said Southeast coach Mark Hogan. "He's a complete player and he had a tremendous tournament."

Four other Southeast players joined Johnson on the 14-member all-tournament squad.

Also making the team for the Indians were shortstop Steve Lowe, left fielder Charlie Marino, right fielder Phil Warren and catcher Brad Hoehner. Warren is a sophomore while the other three are juniors.

Lowe batted .571 in the tourney (8-for-14) and scored six runs; Hoehner hit .500 (4-for-8) and had three RBIs; Warren hit .429 (6-for-14) with a homer and five RBIs; and Marino batted .333 (4-for-12) with two homers and eight runs scored.

Hogan was particularly proud of Hoehner, a former Anna-Jonesboro (Ill.) High star who has struggled much of the season offensively after a strong performance at the plate last year.

"He's a tough kid. He never got down," said Hogan. "He had a great tournament and I'm happy for him."

Sophomore third baseman Darin Kinsolving was a sixth Southeast player to hit above .300 in the tournament as he batted .333 (4-for-12).

As a team, the Indians batted .385 to lead the tourney.

* Tournament runnerup Eastern Illinois followed Southeast's five all-tourney selections with four.

Panthers named were Clint Benhoff, Sean Lyons, Matt Marzec and Josh Zink.

Benhoff batted .556 with three homers and an amazing 14 RBIs. Lyons hit .389; Marzec batted .316 with two homers and seven RBIs; and Zink hit .316 with a homer and eight RBIs.

Eastern Kentucky, which finished third in the six-team tourney, placed Adam Basil, Sean Murray and pitcher Corey Eagle on the team.

Basil batted .500 and homered twice; Murray hit .471 with three homers and eight RBIs; and Eagle pitched a complete-game victory, allowing three runs.

Two players from fourth-place Morehead State rounded out the squad. Chris Berry batted .412 while pitcher Jon Rauch hurled 7 1/3 strong innings, allowing two runs but not figuring into a decision.

* Offense certainly dominated the tournament as 160 runs were scored in the eight games, including 86 runs in the final three contests.

Only two teams had tourney earned-run averages of less than 7.00 and only one squad batted less than .300.