Chaotic day for Bronco softballers
Burrillville players refused to play vs. EG unless coaches were reinstated
BHS wins wild game after coaching flap
The Burrillville softball team threatened to boycott Wednesday’s game; ended up beating EG 30-23
Numerous members of the Burrillville softball team were close to boycotting Wednesday afternoon’s Division II season opener against East Greenwich, according to someone with the program.
A group of players said they would not play unless Bill Lacey was reinstated as coach – this after Lacey and his wife, assistant coach Lindsay Lacey, resigned Tuesday over complaints about playing time.
But Lacey was reinstated by Burrillville Principal Michael Whaley Wednesday at 10 a.m and the players raced home after school to pick up their uniforms and equipment.
“I always want to be a part of this program,” Bill Lacey said Wednesday night. “I was born in Burrillville. I graduated from Burrillville and this is where I want to be. I’ve formed relationships over the last seven years with some really great people and I just want to continue building on that.”
The Broncos arrived in East Greenwich with only 15 minutes to warm-up for what will likely be the highest scoring game in the state this season. The Broncos jumped out to an 11-run lead in the opening inning, before the struggling Avengers scored the 23 of the game’s next 26 runs. Freshman Alyssa Simpson hit a grand slam in the sixth inning to spark a furious comeback, as the Broncos secured a 30-23 Division II victory.
“This was a team effort,” Lacey said. “I’d bet you every girl had at least three hits. It would be a disservice to try and name one girl. Everyone came through to help the team. My wife and I were trying to do the book on the bus and it was tough. We had girls with three hit or four hits. It was a long game.”
Senior Sam Bousquet, who was not expected to do any pitching coming into the season, pitched a complete-game to earn the victory.
Just how close were the Broncos to suffering a mercy-rule defeat in their first game of the season? East Greenwich was up 23-14 in the bottom of the fifth inning, and if the Avengers had scored another run in the inning, that game would’ve ended. Instead, Burrillville scored the game’s final 16 runs to end a hectic day with a much-needed victory.
“I’ve literally always been saying the last two years to keep plugging away and keep plugging away,” Lacey said. “It came to a point where I told the girls that we came back from the dead because were down nine in the fifth inning and all East Greenwich needed was one more to 10-run us. We outscored them 16-0 in the last two innings.”
The Broncos, who refused to practice Tuesday afternoon after Lacey resigned, hope the events of the last two days can be a galvanizing force as they look to finish a season with at least a .500 record for the first time since going 8-8 in 2013.
“We had a long conversation on the bus ride down (to East Greenwich) about how we went from almost not playing today to hurry up, leave school because none of the girls had anything,” Lacey said. “We hopped on the bus and we only had 15 minutes to warm up. We talked on the bus ride down there and I talked to some players individually. We’re all on the same page and that’s going to be our message. Let’s see what happens.”