Bio

Stephanie Lee (Seymour) Gruich

Mississippi Gulf Coast Junior College (1985-1986) / Softball
Ocean Springs, Mississippi

Stephanie Lee (Seymour) Gruich had an exceptional softball career. Her passion for the game started when she was 9 years old. Coached by her father and her high school coach, Jack Hughes, her love for softball continued to grow. After high school, she signed with Delta State University, but wanted to be closer to home, so she found her niche a Perk. She played softball at Mississippi Gulf Coast Junior College for the 1985 and 1986 seasons under Coach Doris Smith.

“Right after high school, going to Perk is what I needed,“ she says. “Coach Smith and my team were like family to me, and the close-knit atmosphere there allowed me to grow as a person and a player. But the same family feeling helped me academically as well and help me prepare for returning to the university later.”

The 1985 Lady Bulldogs softball team posted an overall record of 25-8 and an enviable conference record of 15-1. For performance on the field, Gruich was selected both for All-State and All-Region 23 honors. In 1986, the Lady Bulldogs recorded the best performance of an MGCJC team in the history of the institution to that time. At a five-game state tournament shootout in Elvis Presley Park in Tupelo, Gruich was mentioned in dispatches for scoring in the first three games and then for her key role in defense in the last two. Officials presented the Lady Bulldogs for the state trophy on Friday night, April 25, 1986.

At the National Junior College Athletic Association women’s softball tournament at Wallace State Community College in Hanceville, Alabama, May 2-3, 1986, the Lady Bulldogs captured fifth place. Gruich, as a leading tournament hitter (7 for 12), was named the All-Tournament team, and once again as a year before, she was named All-State and All-Region 23.

“Hard work, dedication and lots of fun,” Gruich remembers. “We always played as a team, and we played hard! Of course, winning the state championship made all that hard work worthwhile and also made that time one of the best of my life.”

After college, she played in the Women’s ASA Open Class until she was 30 years old. During that period, she played for teams in Michigan, Florida and Tennessee, and her teams won seven national championships and were five-time championship runners-up. She was named All-American five times and won a silver medal at the U.S. Olympic Festival in 1990.

Gruich, who in 2009 was a principal at St. Martin Middle School, is married to Dr. James Gruich. They have three daughters — Katelyn, Shelby, and Sidney.