Washington rallies around Parrott after Panthers community loses two of its own
- Jonathan Michel
- Apr 2
- 5 min read
Updated: Apr 2
WASHINGTON – It felt good to just play softball again.
The Washington softball team enjoyed its home opener on a cold, overcast Tuesday at Jan Smith Field. The Panthers danced on the basepaths, sang chants from the dugout and even crawled in the roll of tarp to retrieve a foul ball.
On the surface, it was just another day on the diamond.
Fans poured in and eventually began lining the field once bodies and blankets filled up the bleachers. Parents, family members, students and friends all gathered. It looked like just another day on the outskirts of the fence too.
But on Tuesday, those dugout chants were louder when senior first baseman Baylee Parrott came up to bat. And despite all of the seats and lawn chairs filled, there were two that painfully sat empty.
Following Tuesday’s game — a dominant 12-0 Washington run-rule win against Williamsville in five innings — the visiting Bullets emerged from the dugout to give Parrott flowers. A heartwarming gesture after she and the team still played in the wake of losing two of their own.
“I was born and raised in Washington and the thing about this community is everyone is so supportive,” Washington head coach Stephanie Lawson said. “It goes well beyond the game. To see a sea of people come out here on a cold day means a lot.”
Tuesday’s game was the first for Washington in over a week. It wasn’t meant to be that way.
On the morning of March 27, the Panthers were warming up before their first game at the Southern Warrior Classic in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. The tournament has become an early-season tradition for Washington during its spring break.
Tennessee is a treasured place in the Parrott family. Baylee’s father, Bradley, was an avid fan of the University of Tennessee Volunteers.
But minutes before first pitch, the Panthers were given the gut-wrenching news that Bradley Parrott and William Parrott, the father and grandfather of Washington’s senior first baseman, were killed by a drunk driver earlier that morning.
“They were Baylee’s No. 1 fans, they would never miss a game,” Lawson said. “The thing I liked best about them, though, is they supported the team. Those are the people you want to support.”
Baylee Parrott’s friends and teammates will tell you that she’s resilient, unselfish, the ultimate type of player you want on your team. After learning of her unimaginable loss, she tried to fight through the tears. She still wanted to play softball that morning.
“She’s the strongest person I know, just so mentally strong,” Washington student Elaina Gutierrez said. “She’s one of the best people you can be around.”
As Washington grasped the tragedy, the decision was made to return home before playing a game. That home, however, provided Parrott and the Panthers softball team with overwhelming support.
Donations, messages and flowers came pouring in, even from outside the community.
“[The community has] been putting together a lot of things for them and all the family friends and just a lot of softball people,” Washington student Kelsey Lauderback said.
That support was evident in many ways at Jan Smith Field on Tuesday.
Both teams lined up for a moment of silence before the game. Each Washington player wore blue face paint, Parrott’s fathers’ favorite color. They wore blue and green in their hair ribbons and on their shoelaces – blue for the Parrott family and green for Washington boys basketball head coach Eric Schermerhorn, who is currently fighting cancer.
“We just wanted to do what Baylee wanted and do anything we can to honor and support her,” Lawson said.
The best way to do that was by getting back to the place that Parrott loves: the softball field.
Softballs don’t decide where to fly or where they’re going to be pitched but it was hard not to think that based on how Tuesday’s game started.
She kicked off the game making a diving play on a pop fly, which ended up potentially saving a run.
Shortly afterward, in her first at-bat since losing her father and grandfather, she got a pitch in her wheelhouse and drove a grounder up the middle that drove in teammate Tara Alois, before advancing to second on the throw home.
Moments later during a brief stoppage, Parrott ran over to third base and embraced Lawson. Teammates ran toward her, screaming “Baylee!” and joined in on the celebration.
“That is a hug I’ll never forget,” Lawson said.
The fans who wrapped around the backstop figuratively wrapped their arms around Parrott too.
Members of the community made multiple signs for the game. One, made by two young girls, said ‘Dear Baylee, although dad won’t be at your game, that does not mean he is not watching you. Do it for Dad!’
Another, made by Gutierrez and her friends, featured short messages to Parrott from dozens of students.
“We had our whole track team come out today, like 100 girls we tried to get here and a lot of her family,” Gutierrez said.
Two were left in two lawn chairs, which sat empty on purpose in the spot where Bradley and William Parrott always sat, one of which said “Get a win for Bard and Papa Bill” — nicknames for the two beloved fans.
Baylee Parrott will forever remember the events of March 27, as well as all the games that her two biggest fans attended. Many will remember them any time they look at her number, 13, which was her dad’s favorite number and one that several of her family members have worn
But even less than a week afterward, she was still pushing on and doing as well as a high schooler possibly could in her circumstances.
“Really, everyone has been,” Lauderback said. “She’s just showing up doing the best that she can.”
Washington plans to memorialize the Parrotts throughout the season . The team will soon be receiving sweatbands, a favorite accessory of Parrott’s father, with his and his father’s initials plus the number 13 inscribed on them.
At the Washington Panther Classic on April 18 and 19, the team will wear shirts in the hue of Tennessee orange with every one of them having “Parrott” as the last name on the back.
It’s just another way that Washington shows that it’s always there for each other, where one family’s sorrow is everyone’s sorrow. And one player’s joyous return is a joyous return for the whole Panthers softball community.
“Everyone supports her,” Gutierrez said.
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