It wasn’t all that long ago that Stephen Anderson was just a rookie softball umpire with a passion for the game and a lot of potential.

This weekend, he arrived at the top of the game.

Anderson was part of the umpiring crew for the Mississippi High School Activities Association’s fast-pitch softball championship series in Hattiesburg. He worked the bases in Game 1 of the Class 4A series on Thursday and Game 2 of the Class 6A series on Friday. He’s the first umpire from Vicksburg ever picked to work the state finals in fast-pitch softball.

“It’s the highest honor for a high school official. It’s something that you definitely dream to do. You can’t go higher than a state championship game,” Anderson said. “And to be the first person from the Vicksburg area is pretty unique. My mentor, the late George Smith, told me that I would eventually get there. I just didn’t know it was going to be this soon.”

The 38-year-old Anderson was recruited by Smith to become an umpire in 2013. Anderson rose quickly through the ranks, umpiring not only high school but college softball in the Southland and Southwestern Athletic Conferences as well.

“I was doing slow-pitch, and George Smith thought anybody could do anything. He asked me to call fast-pitch. Me growing up playing high school baseball, I said it shouldn’t be that hard,” Anderson said, adding that he soon decided to focus on softball rather than doing both it and baseball. “I didn’t want to do both. I wanted to master one. I felt with fast-pitch I could be a better asset to the game. So I went to several camps on the collegiate level and worked as much as I could to improve my game.”

Anderson worked the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools championship series the past three years, and on May 7 got an email from the MHSAA saying he’d been selected to work its state finals this time. It was an especially poignant moment and date. Smith died exactly one month earlier, on April 7.

Smith, a longtime Vicksburg resident, was one of the most respected and recognizable umpires in Central Mississippi. Anderson and his fellow umps have honored his memory this season by wearing black bracelets with the words “GEO 7” — Smith’s name and the number he wore on his umpire’s jersey — emblazoned on them.

“I know that if he was alive he would drive down there and I can hear him saying, ‘It doesn’t matter if X, Y and Z are there, as long as Stephen Anderson is there.’ That was just his sense of humor and his love,” Anderson said. “I actually got the email about the game on May 7, which was a month after his passing. I’ll be thinking about him on the way there and all that he’s poured into me, and do my very best.”

Anderson said he also plans to keep doing his best for years to come. Getting to work a state championship series is confirmation that he’s on the right path.

“To get this experience under my belt with the Mississippi High School Activities Association is pretty big. I’m just soaking it all in,” Anderson said. “I love the game of softball. I’ve been in a great position, under great people, just to learn and get better at what I love doing.”