To say that William Carey head coach Bobby Halford has coached a lot of baseball would be an understatement.
After William Carey dominated Ave Maria 27-4, which punched the Crusaders' ticket back to the NAIA World Series, Halford is now two victories from having 1,300 career wins.
"I don't even think about that; we just take it one game at a time," Halford laughed. "Wins are not the end all. It's winning a championship and also guys playing to their potential and getting the best out of the guys. That's what's rewarding is to watch players get better and play well. That's what it's all about.
"It's just the next game on the schedule for me."
Between all levels of four-year college baseball, that win mark would put Halford at No. 31 all-time. It's also the most wins ever in Mississippi as Mississippi State's Ron Polk won 234 of his 1,373 wins in Georgia.
All of his wins come from his 38 years leading the Crusaders. In that span, Halford has guided his team to 25 NAIA tournament appearances, 15 regular season conference titles and four conference tournament titles, and one world series trip, along with numerous coach of the year honors.
But the one thing that still alludes the decorated coach is a national championship. The program has only achieved that feat once 54 years ago, back in 1969. William Carey's only other world series appearances were in 1978 and 2017, which was the closest Halford had to a championship as the Crusader squad reached the semifinals.
"We are going to go get it this year," said fifth-year senior Patrick Lee on what it would mean to win a title for Halford. "It means everything. We are going there to win it. We are not going there just to site see. We are going to get these next two wins for Coach Halford and win it all.
"It's a dream to play for Coach Halford. The past five years have been a dream. He lets us play as kids, and we have fun. We play the game how it's supposed to be played."
However, this year's squad could be his breakthrough group. With 47 wins, this year's Crusaders squad matches the most wins in Halfword's tenure, which he only achieved once back in 1995. The 47-9 mark comes to a winning percentage of 83.93 and is the highest winning percentage in his tenure, beating the previous best of 76.50% that was set by the 1990 team that finished with a 39-12 record.
"In some ways, yes," said Halford if he believes this is the best team he has ever had. "They are swinging the bat is as good as we (ever) have had. We need to be a little better defensively. We have some lapses; maybe we were stronger in some other years, but we make up for it with the offense we have had so far."
Entering Thursday's regional final, William Carey's potent offense was ranked No. 4 in RBI (525), No. 5 in on-base percentage (.455), No. 5 in doubles (132), No. 12 in batting average (.341) and No. 15 in home runs (81) in all of the NAIA.
"The chemistry (is the difference)," said Lee, who leads the team with 14 home runs. "Throughout fall ball, we had a lot of intrasquad. It was tight, and we always chirped at each other. That built the chemistry, and that made us tighter and tighter. Now look at us; you can't get us away from each other. We are ready for the next thing."
The Crusaders have displayed some dominant starting pitching on the mound, but Hattiesburg High alum AJ Stinson has been the team's ace. In his last two outings, Stinson threw over 140 pitches, with the most recent helping William Carey reach the NAIA Regional Final. According to Stinson, who has a team-high of 96 strikeouts, the success of the team stems from the environment and culture that Halford has created.
"It's a laid-back experience," Stinson said. "It's something you want to do. You have fun and play like a kid still. Last year we fell short, and this year, we have handled everything we need to handle. It's a blessing to get him back there again.
"We have to keep doing the same thing. We have to keep playing like us and keep playing the way we have been playing through the conference tournament and regional."
The NAIA World Series on Friday, May 26, and Halford believes his experience from six years ago will be critical in his second trip and will favor his productive lineup.
"We know the lay of the land now, which is an advantage," Halford said. "We know how it works. It's a tournament; if you win on Friday or Saturday, then you get a day off on Sunday, so it sets up well for your pitching. It's not a gauntlet like in the conference tournament. You have some wiggle room and days off. By being there, you understand how it works. The field plays small during the day and plays big at night because the wind blows out, so offensively, playing with this group is very favorable."
