JACKSON — An old tried and true sports cliché states, “Offense sells tickets, but defense wins championships.”

Vidalia native and Belhaven utility player Jordan Brewer knows that all too well.

After all, it was his outstanding defensive play in left field that helped the Blazers win the NAIA regional tournament and advance to the school’s first ever NAIA World Series.

Brewer’s diving catch in the early portion of the regional championship game against Texas Wesleyan saved at least one run in what would eventually be a 4-3 Belhaven victory.

“Most plays you go by reaction,” Brewer said. “You can’t practice it. That play was a line drive to left field and I just ran forward and made a diving catch.”

Most of the glory went to Timmy Foster, who hit a two-run homer in the sixth inning that provided the winning runs.

But Brewer’s catch was indicative of his entire season, in which he didn’t hit the ball as well as he would have liked, but prided himself on his defense.

“I keep telling myself I’m a defensive specialist,” Brewer said. “I take a lot of pride in my defense. Defense wins games, if you don’t have defense, the other team can score and win the game. If the other team has a great defense, they can keep you from scoring.”

Brewer originally came to Belhaven from Vidalia High School as a third baseman, but due to a glut of third basemen on the roster, he was moved to the outfield.

“The coaches asked me how much outfield I had played,” Brewer said. “I said I can play anywhere you want me.”

And he did that this season. While playing mostly in the outfield, the junior also played several infield positions in backup roles.

Brewer said being a part of the first ever Belhaven team to advance to the World Series was something he’ll never forget.

“It was a great experience to go,” Brewer said. “We also had the most single season wins in school history, which is great as well. The team had a great bunch of guys on and off the field, and it was a fun experience to play in the World Series.”