JACKSON &045; It seemed only fitting that a pitcher win the inaugural Boo Ferriss Award at the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum Monday.

Granted Ole Miss’ Stephen Head is an accomplished hitter and first baseman, but his invincibility on the mound put him over the top of two other finalists in the minds of Mississippi’s Major League Baseball scouts, who voted on the award.

The hefty bronze trophy is named after Dave &uot;Boo&uot; Ferriss &045; a native of Shaw, a former Mississippi State and Boston Red Sox star and Delta State coach.

Head beat out Vidalia, La., native and Southern Miss junior second baseman Jarrett Hoffpauir along with Mississippi State outfielder Brad Corley.

&uot;This is definitely the highlight of my college career,&uot; said the sophomore Head, who carries a .360 batting average and 2.43 ERA. &uot;These guys (Hoffpauir and Corley) are deserving as well and tremendous ball players. It’s a tremendous honor to win an award named for the great Boo Ferriss.&uot;

Both Hoffpauir and Corley made it a close race against by stacking up impressive numbers.

Hoffpauir is one of four Eagles to start all 52 games, while leading the team in RBIs (70) and tied for the lead in batting average (.392) and doubles (23) with Matt Shepherd.

&uot;Being a year older and knowing we were going to be without leaders like (Jeff) Cook and (Clint) King, we had to have somebody step up,&uot; said Hoffpauir, who’s only made five errors in 266 chances this season. &uot;Me and Shep took on that role. It’s being a year wiser.&uot;

Corley, the reigning Southeastern Conference Player of the Week, has blasted 18 home runs for the Bulldogs during his sophomore season.

While honored, both Head and Hoffpauir still had their minds on the diamond.

Both Ole Miss and Southern Miss enter their respective regular season series finales with conference titles on the line.

The Eagles trail East Carolina by three games in Conference USA, meaning they would have to sweep a team that won 22 consecutive league games before Texas Christian ruined the streak Sunday, 3-1.

The Eagles dropped two of three in Greenville, N.C., last season, and Hoffpauir knows a sweep will be a daunting task.

&uot;It’s more exciting than anything to know we have to play well,&uot; he said of this weekend’s challenge in Hattiesburg. &uot;Hopefully, we cannot have any blunders that come from pressing.&uot;

The Rebels are tied with Arkansas for first in the SEC West but own the tiebreaker against the Hogs after taking two of three in Oxford earlier this month.

However, pesky rival LSU, which sits a game behind in second, visits Oxford this weekend and all bets are off.

&uot;It’s a huge series for us. We have put ourselves in a position to win the SEC championship,&uot; Head said. &uot;I don’t think it would’ve mattered who we played, but there’s nothing sweeter than to play LSU.&uot;

The series with the Tigers also becomes intriguing with Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco’s ties to LSU.

Bianco, who is in his fourth year in Oxford, played catcher for the Tigers in 1988 and ’89 before serving as an assistant in Baton Rouge from 1993-97.

&uot;The first two goals we set before the season was to win 40 games and an SEC Championship,&uot; Bianco said Monday. &uot;Neither one of those things are answered yet.&uot;