PEARL — On his last trip to Trustmark Park, Jordan Henry was like a caged animal.

Mired in a monthlong slump, he didn’t get out of the dugout for the annual Governor’s Cup game against Mississippi State. It was one of only two games the former Vicksburg High star didn’t play in last season.

Fast-forward a year, and that miserable stretch is nothing but a distant memory. Henry is once again among the Southeastern Conference leaders in a half-dozen offensive categories, just like he was in 2006 when he was named the league’s freshman of the year.

Henry went 2-for-4 in Tuesday’s Governor’s Cup game against MSU, raising his average to a team-best .381. He also scored two runs and stole a base as Ole Miss won 8-1.

“I’m just trying to be aggressive and be a leadoff guy,” Henry said. “Sometimes you think too much and you get too critical of yourself. Sometimes you’ve just got to be patient and keep your confidence.”

Henry’s confidence never wavered last season, even as his average dipped into the low .200s. A bad March and April cost him his starting job and limited him to a few pinch-running appearances. He kept fighting, though, worked his way back into the starting lineup by the end of April, and regained his hitting stroke.

Henry hit safely in six of the Rebels’ last nine regular season games, then went 11-for-20 in the SEC Tournament to earn all-tournament honors.

“Last year was really a bad first half. At the end of the year he played as well as anybody,” Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco said. “It was just one of those things. He lost his stroke and aggressiveness.”

Once Henry found those things again, however, he hasn’t let go. With a month left in the regular season, Henry is ranked in the top five in the SEC in average, runs scored, on base percentage, walks and stolen bases. He’s in the top 10 for hits and sacrifice bunts, and is a potent weapon at the top of the lineup for the Rebels (26-10).

“We don’t have a lot of guys like him,” Bianco said. “He’s going to have the stolen base record before he leaves here, and he scores one out of every two times he gets on. And it’s not just that. Going first to third, like we saw (against MSU), that puts a lot of pressure on a defense.”

Of all Henry’s stats, the most impressive might be his on base percentage — a whopping .494, which is fourth in the SEC — and the number of runs he’s scored. He’s been on base 79 times this season and scored 44 runs.

“Scoring runs wins you games,” said Henry, who scored 44 runs all of last season and 52 in 2007. “That’s a big key. Just getting on base and being aggressive.”

Henry, now a junior, will be eligible for the major league draft at the end of this season and his speed and track record at the college level should certainly be attractive to a few teams. He’s also got the pedigree. His older brother Justin, who also played at Ole Miss, is a rising star in the Detroit Tigers organization.

Jordan Henry said it’s fun to think about that, but wasn’t sure if he’d be ready to leave college at the end of the year.

“It’s crossed my mind a little bit. It just depends on certain things, certain rounds. I’ll wait for the time to come and see what happens,” he said. “I look back and I can’t believe it’s flown by so fast. It’s amazing how quick it comes. It’s exciting to think about it. You try to use it as motivation. But right now, I’m focused on this season.”

*

Contact Ernest Bowker at ebowker@vicksburgpost.com