Belhaven is once again at the apex of the Division III softball scene with yet another chance to bring a national title back home to Mississippi.
The Blazers (42-10) rolled through regional and super regional play and are now in the College World Series for the second time in three years, this time as the seven-seed. During the club’s last go-round, Belhaven was just one win away from claiming the program’s first-ever title. A game-three loss to East Texas Baptist in the championship series left Kevin Griffin’s group with the bittersweet taste of what could have been.
But a new opportunity awaits. With a roster filled mostly with a new faces – plus a couple veterans from that 2024 squad – the Blazers find themselves in a unique position to focus on one game at a time, rather than allowing he nerves of truly knowing how high the stakes are to take over.
“Most of my team doesn’t know how big this moment is, so I think they’ve been able to take this thing in stride. We only have two players from returning from that team two years ago that played for the national championship,” said Griffin, who is in his 16th season as the team’s frontman.
“In a lot of ways, that could be a good thing. It could be a bad thing. But I think them not knowing how big the moment is helps us take it in stride like we do every day and keep things normal.”
Of the two returners from the 2024 squad is All-American pitcher Macy Funderburk. The junior from Louisiana has been one of the stars of the show this season, posting a 20-5 record with an eye popping 1.91 ERA and 124 strikeouts.
Another familiar face from two years ago is Kennedy Carruth, the All-American pitcher turned assistant coach on Griffin’s staff. Carruth and her rubber arm had Belhaven on the precipice of winning it all in 2024. Now, in her new role, she’s used her expertise in the circle to lead as a coach, and Griffin said she’s had immense success.
“It’s been good. The pitching staff is able to look up to someone who’s been there and done that. They can trust her,” Griffin said of Carruth. “She’s done a good job with pitch calling and scouting reports, and things like that. Just taking it from a player to a coach, I think our players respect her.”
Other notable standouts on this year’s club include All-American Maryanna Guy, a Pisgah High School alum and Longwood transfer, who’s batting .419 with 11 home runs, along with Kaleigh Steverson, a Germantown alum and Jones College transfer, who’s batting .381 with eight home runs. Griffin also lauded Melissa Lopera, a Hinds Community College transfer, who’s batting .403 with five home runs.
A common theme among the top offensive producers is that two of the three are from Mississippi and that two have come from the state’s community college system. Griffin, no stranger to adding from the JUCO ranks, recognizes the value of assessing players from two-year institutions in Mississippi, especially given their track record of success.
“We like girls who have had experience being on the field, and players who have won. If you play at one of our Mississippi junior colleges, chances are you’ve won, especially if you’re at Jones, Co-Lin, and Pearl River now,” Griffin explained. “We’ve had players from East Central, Hinds, and all over the state of Mississippi. To be able to do it homegrown speaks volumes about where softball has come in our state.”
Adding to the value of this Belhaven team is the bond the players have formed throughout the year, especially with Griffin taking some time to be a dad, at the expense of missing a few games. Griffin, the father of Pittsburgh Pirates rookie shortstop Konnor Griffin, traveled northeast to enjoy his son’s MLB debut back in April, missing several Belhaven games in the process.
How did the Blazer players respond to their coach’s absence? To Griffin, they responded with understanding, given they are all admittedly fans of Konnor, and with tenacity. The head coach said arguably the turning point of the season occurred with him not in the dugout, signaling how Belhaven softball has become a self-sustaining, well-oiled machine.
“Our team has rallied around that. They’ll tell you that they’re Konnor’s biggest fans. We watch his games on the bus if we’re riding. Even sometimes, we sneak a peek during a game in the dugout. I know I do. I’ll set my phone up and try to follow him, and our players will come huddle around me, and I’m like, ‘Hey, go play your game,'” Griffin said with a smile.
“With me being gone, they still found a way to get it done, and I’ve always said that teams that are led from within are going to be your best teams. And of course, my assistant coaches did a great job of holding things together while I was gone,” he continued.
Belhaven will now embark on its greatest challenge of the year with a familiar foe first on the docket. The Blazers will face off against two-seed Trine (38-6), the reigning national champions and an opponent that defeated Griffin’s group 6-4 in the regular season. History aside, Griffin said his club isn’t intimidated in the slightest.
“They have a lot of history in their program, but I feel like we have history. We’ve been eligible in the NCAA for six years now, and we’ve made the postseason all six years. It’s our second appearance in six years in the World Series,” Griffin said. “I don’t really think we’re the underdog going into this, even though we’re the seven-seed and they’re the two. We were the eight-seed two years ago and played for a national championship.”
First pitch from Salem, Va. is set for 3 p.m. CT, and, unlike the last time Belhaven squared off against Trine, Funderburk will be in the circle for the Blazers. Fans looking to tune into the game can do so by clicking here.
