From William Carey University Sports Information Department
JACKSON, Tenn. (WDAM) – One baseball legend supplanted another legend Thursday night.
William Carey University baseball coach Bobby Halford passed former Mississippi State University baseball coach Ron Polk on the all-time wins list with win number 1,374 as the Crusaders defeated Blue Mountain Christian University 8-4 at Rockabilly Stadium.
The win not only pushed Halford past Polk, but left the top-seeded Crusaders (37-11) sitting pretty at 2-0 in the 2025 Southern States Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament.
“This was a great team win for our guys,” Halford said. “We got a couple of big hits when we needed them and had another quality start on the mound. These guys have done that all season long and it’s great to see different guys come through.”
Carey won the regular-season championship to earn top seed at the round-robin “pool” play, eight-team tourney.
The win left Carey unbeaten after two rounds and in position to play for a tournament championship for the fourth time in the last five years.]
Halford won his first game as the head coach of the Crusaders back in 1986 and has been winning ever since with a .629 winning percentage. He has one losing season in 40 years at the school.
Halford is the winningest coach in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. His 1,374 wins put him in the Top 20 across all levels of college baseball.
“It’s great for our program and our university,” Halford said of his career win mark. “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.”
Bridley Thomas returned from a concussion suffered a few weeks ago to lace a bases-loaded triple in Carey’s six-run fourth inning against sixth-seeded Blue Mountain.
Wednesday, the top four seeds in the championship were victorious in opening-round games, with Carey leading the way.
The Crusaders run-ruled eighth-seeded University of Tennessee-Southern, 15-5, in seven innings Wednesday in “Pool A” round-robin play.
The Crusaders’ Thursday game originally was set to start at 4 p.m., but was bumped back until 5:35 p.m. after the second game of the Second Day of the tournament did not end until third-seeded Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College topped seventh-seeded University of Mobile, 24-23.
In Wednesday’s opening win, the Crusaders scored four-plus runs in three different innings. Five Carey players drove in at least two runs, with Collins knocking in three.
Carey is in “pool” play, meaning the Crusaders will play the other three teams in “Pool A.”
The Crusaders are scheduled to face that third foe, fourth-seeded Middle Georgia State University, at 4 p.m. Friday.
The teams with the best records coming out of “Pool A” and “Pool B” will meet at 1 p.m. Saturday in the SSAC tournament title game.
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