Rebels Catcher Calvin Harris Named Golden Spikes Player Of The Week
In a lost season, it's all about the little victories. Ole Miss baseball can celebrate the success of catcher Calvin Harris after his breakout weekend performance against Missouri.
Harris was named SEC Co-Player of the Week and the Golden Spikes Award Performance of the Week for his outing in the Rebels' series loss against the Tigers. As a whole, Harris played well both at and behind the plate, but it was his four-home run outing in Ole Miss' 20-14 win.
Harris homered in the third, fourth, and sixth innings to insert himself into the Rebels' record books as one of eight players with a three-home run game. But it was his two-run blast in the ninth that placed him in a category of his own.
After drawing a 1-0 count, Harris belted a no-doubt shot over the center-field wall at Taylor Stadium to extend the Rebels' lead by eight. He finished the afternoon 4-for-6 with four long balls and 10 RBI.
For the week, Harris hit .471 (8-for-17) with five home runs, a triple, 13 RBI, and nine runs scored. On top of breaking the Rebels' single-game home run record, Harris also tied the single-game RBI record set back in 1947 by Charlie Conerly in a game against Milsaps.
Last season, both Tim Elko and Jacob Gonzalez complied a three-home run performance. Elko, the Rebels' captain and MVP of their College World Series run totaled three long balls and five RBI against Arizona in the Coral Gables Regional. Gonzalez, a projected top-10 pick in next month's MLB Draft, launched three deep shots in a 12-10 regular season loss to Alabama.
The victory for Harris is monumental in the Ole Miss history books, but it's also a significant milestone in the Southeastern Conference. Harris joins JJ Schwarz (Florida, 2015) and Bill Sandry (Kentucky, 1982) as one of three SEC players with four homers in a single game. Unlike his predecessors, he's the only one to do it in a conference matchup.
The Rebels return to Swayze Field Thursday for their final SEC home series against Auburn starting at 7 p.m.
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