Senior Holt Perdzock doesn’t want ride to end as Rebels continue quest for Regional at Swayze

Oxford, Miss. – As senior Holt Perdzock saw No. 6 Ole Miss in a five-run hole against Kentucky on Saturday, he started to reflect on the great moments he has had as a Rebel. But though the home team was down, Perdzock remained positive he and his Rebels would suit up in Ole Miss uniforms and play another game at Swayze Field.

Their chances of hosting an NCAA Regional were bolstered by a late rally from the Rebels in the bottom of the ninth inning that ended with a Henri Lartigue three-run homer to right field that gave Ole Miss the 7-5 win over the Wildcats and completed the team’s fifth sweep on the season.

Along with Holt Perdzock, Ole Miss seniors Connor Cloyd, Matt Denny and Cameron Dishon were honored on Senior Night at Swayze. (Photo credit: josh McCoy, Ole Miss Athletics)

And as Saturday’s game came to an exciting end, Perdzock thought about the sweep over Kentucky, including a great Senior Night on Friday–where Ole Miss routed the Wildcats, 14-2, off 21 hits that included two homeruns by Tate Blackman and J.B. Woodman (one of five finalists named for the C Spire Ferriss Trophy Award on Monday morning).

Before Friday night’s win, Perdzock joined fellow seniors Connor Cloyd, Matt Denny and Cameron Dishon on the field for recognition as they held their framed jerseys and received applause from grateful Ole Miss fans.

The four players have helped lead the Rebels to 155 wins over the past four seasons.

“It feels awesome,” was Perdzock’s response to the sweep over Kentucky. “A great win on senior night, then I graduated early Saturday morning and had to come out and play baseball. We kind of struggled in the early innings, but we bounced back. It was a huge win for us.”

But Perdzock, who hit his first career home run in the series win over Georgia, wants more.

Holt Perdzock, Ole Miss DH

Perdzock, shown here on Friday’s Senior Night, was 2-for-4 in the Rebels’ thrilling 7-5 win over Kentucky Saturday. (Photo credit: Joshua McCoy, Ole Miss Athletics)

Still work left to do

The Rebels (39-13, 17-10 Southeastern Conference) are in position to host an NCAA Regional as they are currently third in the SEC West behind Texas A&M and Mississippi State. But, there is still work left to do.

The Rebels need to win their final midweek non-conference game Tuesday night at Arkansas State (6:30 p.m. CT) and then head to College Station, Texas and try to steal a game against the Aggies, who currently lead the SEC in batting average (.316) and are ranked No. 2 in the nation.

However, the come-from-behind win over the Wildcats was all Perdzock needed to see to have confidence in his team’s chances for the final series and in the SEC Baseball Tournament next week in Hoover, Alabama.

Holt Perdzock

Rebels and Aggies on national television

The Southeastern Conference announced Monday that the May 19 baseball game between No. 6 Ole Miss and No. 2 Texas A&M will air on national television. The series opener will be broadcast live on SEC Network with first pitch moved up to 6 p.m. CT at Blue Bell Park.

(Feature image credit: Josh McCoy, Ole Miss Athletics)

Courtney Smith

Courtney is from Memphis and received his Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Arts from the University of Memphis in May of 2014. He began his journalism career covering the Memphis Tigers Men’s basketball team, which landed him an intern position on 730 Yahoo Sports Radio and a position with Rivals.com. A freelance writer for the Associated Press, Courtney is also a member of The Rebel Walk team and reports regularly on Ole Miss football and basketball. Courtney, the father of a six-year old girl named Soniyah, prefers to cover NCAA basketball and football, but is happy to report on any other sport that comes his way.