Johnson Named to John Olerud Watch List

MACON, Ga. – Mercer second baseman and right-handed pitcher DJ Johnson was one of just 25 players in all of college baseball named to the John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award watch list, as announced by the College Baseball Foundation on Friday morning.

The Olerud Award recognizes a player who makes an impact both on the mound and at the plate. The second-annual award will be presented in Lubbock, Texas, on July 3 as part of the College Baseball Hall of Fame's Night of Champions.

Johnson, a freshman from Adel, Georgia, has started 36 games at second base and made 15 appearances on the mound for the Bears in 2011. He is hitting a respectable .271 at the plate with eight doubles, one triple, five stolen bases, 17 runs scored and 18 RBI. Priding himself on being a complete player, Johnson is especially smooth in the field, sporting a .987 fielding percentage with just two errors this season.

On the mound, Johnson is 1-2 with two saves and a microscopic 2.05 ERA. He has thrown 26.1 innings so far this season and has held opposing batters to a .235 average while holding an impressive 26-to-5 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Johnson has 11 scoreless relief appearances to his credit this season, including a combined 3.1 innings of scoreless relief against in-state powers Georgia Tech and Georgia.

Johnson is joined by East Tennessee State's Bo Reeder as the only Atlantic Sun players on the watch list. The inaugural winner of the 2010 Olerud Award, Florida State's Mike McGee, is also on the list.

Mercer is in the middle of a week-long break for final exams, but the Bears return to action at 5 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon when they travel to Athens to take on Georgia at Foley Field.