Gulfport’s Justin Holt earns unique honor at Nicholls State

Nicholls State’s baseball team unveiled a new tradition this season and the Colonels picked none other than a South Mississippi standout to debut the honor.

When senior Justin Holt took the field for the first time against Wake Forest over the weekend, he wasn’t wearing his usual No. 7. Instead, emblazoned on Holt’s back was No. 11, a tribute to the late Darryl Hamilton, a long-time MLB veteran and Nicholls State great. It will be an annual tradition for the Colonels, with the former Gulfport Admiral batting leadoff.

“Justin is very deserving to wear No. 11 for the Colonels and he will represent Darryl well wearing it,” Nicholls State coach Seth Thibodeaux said in a release. “I am proud that we can start this tradition and no one is more deserving than Justin.”

Thibodeaux went on to say Holt has served as a role model for fellow players on his team.

“Ham wore 11 because he said Lenny Ford was the player he looked up to when he first got here,” Thibodeaux said. “He said he wanted to be like Lenny. I know some younger players who look up to Justin in a similar way. Hopefully we can always pick the right player to carry on DH’s legacy.”

Hamilton, a Baton Rouge, Louisiana, native, was an All-Gulf Star Conference team member and All-American during his time with the Colonels before being drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers. Hamilton, who died at the age of 50 in 2015, played 13 seasons with the Brewers, Texas Rangers, San Francisco Giants and New York Mets.

Holt has been a reliable player for Nicholls State during his career. Last year he hit .224 with 14 RBIs, 25 runs scored and 14 stolen bases. He also landed on the 2016 Southland Conference Commissioner’s Spring Honor Role with a 3.6 grade point average.

The former Admiral is off to a solid start to the 2017 season, hitting .250 with two RBIs, a stolen base and a run scored in three games over the weekend.

Holt wasn’t the only former Coast baseball standout playing over the weekend. Here’s how some of the other South Mississippians fared heading into Tuesday night’s schedule:

• Mississippi State 1B Cody Brown (Biloxi): 2-for-11; .357 OBP; 1 2B; 3 R; 4 RBI
• Tulane OF Grant Brown (Gulfport): 1-for-4; .500 OBP; 1 RBI
• Nicholls State RHP Daniel Goff (George County): 1-0; 2.25 ERA; 3K; 1 ER; 3H; 4 IP
• Southern Miss INF Tracy Hadley (Pascagoula): 2-for-5; .500 OBP; 1 RBI
• South Alabama OF Dylan Hardy (D’Iberville): 3-for-6; .571 OBP; 2 R; 1 3B; 2 SB
• Ole Miss RHP Greer Holston (St. Stanislaus): 0.00 ERA; 1 H; 1 BB; 1/3 IP
• Southern Miss OF Daniel Keating (Gulfport): 1-for-8; .417 OBP; 2 R; 2 SB
• Southeastern Louisiana RHP/INF Derrick Mount (Harrison Central): 4.50 ERA; 2 K, 1 ER, 3 H, 2 IP
• Southern Miss RHP Alex Nelms (Gulfport): 9.00 ERA; 2H; 1ER; 1 IP
• Mississippi State LHP Konnor Pilkington (East Central): 0-1; 10.80 ERA; 7 K; 1 BB; 4 H, 4 ER; 3 1/3 IP

This story was originally published February 21, 2017 at 3:00 AM with the headline "Gulfport’s Justin Holt earns unique honor at Nicholls State."