Rebel Walk Player of the Weekend: Calvin Harris plays key role in series win over Maryland

OXFORD, Miss. — Many Rebels contributed to the series win over then-No. 13 Maryland this past weekend at Swayze, so it’s not easy to pick one particular player as the most outstanding. However, after taking a look at his impact on the games, we’ve chosen catcher Calvin Harris as our Rebel Walk “Player of the Weekend.”

The junior from Peosta, Iowa played a vital role this weekend for Ole Miss. He went 7-for-13 at the plate, which included a double, two home runs, eight RBI and six runs scored.

He currently leads the team in batting at .444 (12-for-27) and his 1.267 OPS trails only Kemp Alderman. Harris has also notched a hit in all seven games this season. He now leads the team in batting average, hits, runs scored, and sacrifice flies.

Let’s take a look at Harris’ outstanding weekend.

Game One

Although Ole Miss lost the series opener Friday night, Harris was a bright spot in the 9-2 loss. With the Rebels down 2-0, Harris led off the bottom of the second inning with a single through the left side. He would later advance to second base on a passed ball and then to third on a wild pitch. He would come around to score thanks to an Anthony Calarco groundout, scoring the Rebels’ first run of the game.

In the bottom of the first with two outs, Harris singled up the middle but would be stranded at first. He finished Friday night’s contest going 2-for-4 with a run scored.

Game Two

In game two, Harris made his presence felt early behind the plate.

Mid 1 | @Calvin_Harris33 with a big tag at the plate to get the Rebs out of the top of the first.

Ole Miss 0, Maryland 0 pic.twitter.com/Zlr1zebrQ0

— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) February 25, 2023

He would not reach base until the bottom of the seventh inning, an inning that started with Ole Miss down 6-4. Harris would lead off the frame by hitting a single to right field. He then advanced to third base on a double from Anthony Calarco.

With two out and the bases loaded, Garrett Wood drew a walk which brought Harris home, moving the score to 6-5 in favor of Maryland, but the Rebels took the lead in the very next at-bat and didn’t look back, evening the series at one game apiece with a 12-6 win.

Harris ended Saturday’s game with one hit in four at bats, scoring two runs.

Game Three

Harris put together a career day in the rubber match. He began game three with a single through the right side in the bottom of the first. In his second at bat of the day, he hit a three-run home run over the left field fence, putting Ole Miss up 5-2.

.@Calvin_Harris33 joins the home run party with a 3-run jack!

Ole Miss 5, Maryland 2 pic.twitter.com/kwSt8Ar41f

— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) February 26, 2023

In the bottom of the fourth inning, Harris doubled on a well-executed hit-and-run that scored Ethan Groff from first base to extend the Rebs’ lead to 9-6.

Harris scored a run later that inning on a Kemp Alderman single. In the bottom of the seventh inning with Ole Miss up 14-8 with the bases loaded and no outs, Harris hit his second home run of the game.

The grand slam to left field gave Ole Miss an 18-8 lead and ended up being a walk-off as the 10-run-rule was in effect.

Harris finished the game with four hits, a double, two home runs, eight RBI and scoring three runs. He became the first Rebel to drive in eight runs since Thomas Dillard in 2019.

Break out the rye bread! @Calvin_Harris33 hits a walk-off grand slam! pic.twitter.com/LoiF4XxNaF

— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) February 26, 2023

Congratulations to Calvin and the Rebels on the series win over Maryland! Stay tuned to The Rebel Walk for Ole Miss baseball coverage throughout the season.

(Feature image credit: Josh McCoy, Ole Miss)