Bobby Halford New All-Time Wins Leader in Mississippi

William Carey Baseball took down Blue Mountain Christian 8-4 on Thursday at Rockabillys Stadium in Jackson, Tenn. The Crusaders advanced to 2-0 in the Southern States Athletic Conference Tournament, but that wasn’t the only reason this was a big win.

Head Coach Bobby Halford is coaching in his 40th season at William Carey, and yesterday’s win allowed Halford to pass Mississippi State’s Ron Polk on the all-time wins list with his 1,374th career victory. Not only is he the winningest active coach in the NAIA and 6th overall in history, the win lands him in the top 20 across all levels of college baseball.

“It’s great for our program and our university,” Halford said. “I’ve been very blessed to be able to do this all of these years and I owe my family a big thank you for all of their support.”

In 40 seasons at William Carey, coach Halford has posted a .629 winning percentage and has only had one losing season. In Thursday’s win, the game began with three scoreless innings before the Crusaders caught fire in the top of the fourth. After loading the bases and Eli Collins being hit by a pitch, the Crusaders plated the first run of the contest. Then with the bases loaded, Bridley Thomas, who re-entered the lineup after suffering a concussion a few weeks ago, cleared the bases with a triple. Brayden Coffey then batted in an RBI single to push the Crusaders lead to 5-0. Rigoberto Hernandez then capped the scoring with an RBI single to left field.

In the next inning, Collins led off with a single to the mound, where the pitcher made an errant throw that gave Collins an opportunity to get to second base. Later in the inning, Coffey knocked him in with his second RBI single.

After scoring one in the sixth inning, the Blue Christian Toppers used the seventh frame to cut the lead to 7-4. Carey responded in the top of the ninth to push the lead back to four, and Luke Lycette entered the game in the eighth inning to eventually seal the game at the mound for the Crusaders.

Coach Halford and the William Carey look for another victory in the SSAC Tournament, facing Middle Georgia State in the semifinals.

Author administrator Kellen Walker