COLUMBUS, Ga.- The Belhaven softball team is in search of its second consecutive Southern States Athletic Conference title as the Blazers head to the 2012 SSAC Tournament in Columbus, Ga. The Blazers come into the SSAC tournament as a number 4 seed after finishing the regular season 23-22 and 9-14 in SSAC play. Belhaven will face the number 5 seed in the SSAC East Division Emmanuel College on Thursday at 9:00 AM in the opening round of the tourney. An automatic bid to the NAIA National Championship Tournament is on the line for the Blazers.

Belhaven struggled in the last half of conference play dropping their last four contests, although it didn't affect their ability to reach the SSAC tourney. The Blazers go into the tournament with an overall team batting average of .278 while also tabbing 185 runs scored and 160 RBIs. The Blazers will depend on their big hitters CeCee Austin and Annalee Carr who are leading the team in RBIs and homeruns. Shortstop Courtney Fairley will also be a key contributor leading the team in doubles, hits, and with a batting average of .353. Jessica Paris and Bayleigh Babin will be the go to players for the Blazers in the circle, both holding a win-loss records of 8-8.

Emmanuel College enters the tournament with an overall record of 24-25 and an 8-19 SSAC conference record. Brittney Smith leads the Lions with a batting average of .305 including 29 hits with five home runs and along with 21 RBIs. Samantha Rao follows Greiesemer with a batting average of .315 and has kept pace with Smith in the hits category with 39. Jordan Najafi is the projected starter in the circle for the Lions. Najafi enters the tourney with a win-loss record of 11-13 and a 3.62 ERA.

The tournament is set to begin Thursday in Columbus, GA and fans can catch and follow all the action by clicking here.