May 2, 2025 By Rob Burchianti 4 min read

Bill Simms is a humble person who immediately deflected any praise for the 285 wins he’s racked up as West Greene’s softball coach over the past 20 years.

“I didn’t win any of those games,” Simms said after his Lady Pioneers defeated Jefferson-Morgan, 7-4, in their Section 2-A softball clash Monday afternoon to make him West Greene’s winningest coach in a single sport.

“The girls won them all. It’s been a very fun ride.”

Simms surpassed West Greene wrestling coach John “Buzz” Walters who accumulated 284 victories while guiding the Pioneers. Counting 19 wins while coaching the West Greene baseball team from 2001 to 2005, Simms has a total of 304 wins at the school.

“Buzz went to Beth-Center and Clay-Battelle and got over 300 wins, too,” Simms said.

No one has more victories at West Greene than Simms, however, whose run included an incredible streak of six consecutive WPIAL championships from 2016-2021, including two PIAA titles in that span.

As for the current squad, Katie Brudnock smacked a two-run double to key the victory over the Lady Rockets that upped the Lady Pioneers’ record to 7-1 in the section and 12-1 overall with the only loss coming to undefeated Carmichaels.

Winning pitcher Payton Gilbert walked two and struck out 10 and worked out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the first inning. Marissa Tharp’s two-run single keyed a four-run rally in the bottom of the inning for the Lady Pioneers.

Losing pitcher Emmilee Bazzoli, who walked five and struck out five, had two hits, including a two-run double in a four-run second inning that pulled the Lady Rockets even at 4-4.

The Lady Pioneers went ahead to stay with a three-run third that included Brudnock’s double.

Khyler Davis had a single and an RBI for West Greene (7-1, 12-1) which also got two runs and an RBI from Madelyn Roberts.

Brooklyn Snyder was 3 for 4 for J-M (4-4, 7-5) which also got two hits from Addy Teagarden.

West Greene is one of four Greene County teams to have won a WPIAL softball championship along with J-M, Carmichaels and Waynesburg Central.

Simms is thankful to be at West Greene.

“The ability to get wins like that is probably rare in 2025’s world because nobody’s a 20-year coach anymore,” Simms said. “People get fired or have their job opened on a much more rapid pace now than what’s happened over the years.

“I’m very appreciative to have a supportive administrative group and board group and boosters group that’s allowed this to go over the cycle that is has for 20 years here.”

Simms, who also is West Greene’s athletic director, was a softball player himself before taking over the Lady Pioneers.

“I’d played men’s fast-pitch softball and we were having a good run on a nice team and I had a couple buddies say, hey, you been thinking about taking the softball job, our daughters are all going through now.

“I did, although I didn’t know what it was going to be like to switch over to the girls program in 2006. I had a couple young daughters at the time and I had been the baseball coach. The time just seemed right to switch over.”

Not even Simms envisioned the tremendous success the Lady Pioneers would have.

“Never in a blue moon,” Simms said. “Over the course of time we used to struggle. Then having the horses cures a lot. When you’ve had the players we’ve had come through, dating back to even when I first started … just tremendous teams over the course of time.

“The parents have a hand in this too, spending the time to take their kids to travel tournaments and pitching lessons and doing all the extra stuff. Thanks to that I get to reap a little more of the rewards than most coaches do.”

Simms pointed out he coaches the same no matter what talent level his team is at that particular year.

“It’s a very humbling thing as a coach, you don’t coach any harder or less than what you have,” he said. “It’s a lot of kid-driven stuff. Where would you even start with the tremendous talent that’s come through here? A lot of good kids, a lot of hard workers, a lot of time and effort and hours put in.

“I’ve been very fortunate to be part of it.”