Can it be too hot for softball? EG found out, but it didn't matter

The bus ride was a long one for the East Greenwich softball team. The heat delay - yes, that's a thing - was longer.

Just about the only quick part of a game that took two weeks on calendar days to play was the actual finish.

East Greenwich and Barrington met on May 6, couldn’t finish because of rain, but had to finish on Wednesday with playoff seeding on the line. With temperatures over 90 degrees the game was postponed for 90 minutes before a pitch was thrown. It finished in less than 20, thanks to two hits from sisters who are triplets that brought home the only run the Avengers needed in a 12-11 win over the Eagles.

“It feels really good,” East Greenwich’s Erin Sheeran said. “After the game was postponed, it just feels good to get out here and get it done quick.”

“We’re all a little bit triggered that this game didn’t get going [immediately], but we’re ready to compete,” EG’s Kayleigh Chaiyabhat said. “We’re a good team, a lot of people doubt us this year and we’re trying to prove them wrong.”

If all of this sounds confusing, let’s go back to the beginning.

East Greenwich traveled to Barrington on May 6 trying to get a game in before weather hit. It was an unsuccessful attempt, but the Avengers scored six runs in the top of the fifth to take an 11-5 lead. As rain continued to fall harder, the Eagles came back with five and they played one more inning, with Barrington scoring the tying run before umpires called the game.

With the RIIL using an RPI system for standings and playoff seedings, the game could remain tied. The schools agreed the tie would stand provided there was no seeding implications at the end of the season.

So of course, there was.

Heading into this week East Greenwich was seeded fifth in Division II with Barrington right behind it by the slimmest of margins. That meant whoever won the tied game would end with the higher seed.

The game was scheduled to be finished on Thursday, May 14, but Mother Nature had other ideas and it was postponed to Wednesday, May 20.

East Greenwich bordered its bus at 2:30 p.m. and arrived at Barrington High School at 3:30 p.m., but the field was empty.

With temperatures over 90 degrees all day, the game was postponed because of a Barrington High School rule that doesn’t allow athletes to play or practice when the heat index reaches a certain level.

Barrington’s players remained inside the school. East Greenwich players weren’t allowed to warm up, but elected to lounge in the shade next to the field where they killed time by scrolling on their phones, watching shows on an iPad and engaging in casual conversation with the Providence Journal.

“I was doom-scrolling over there on YouTube, so that was fun,” said Chaiyabhat of how she got through the heat delay. “But the bus ride? Not it.”

Just after 5 p.m. Barrington walked out to the field and shortly after, both teams started their usual warmups, which took about 30 minutes.

East Greenwich had to make a big lineup change before the game, pinch-hitting Catherine Sheeran in for Kayla Washburn, who suffered an injury in the days between games and was unavailable to play.Sheeran made her impact felt immediately with a leadoff single. Alessandra Falcon bunted her to second, setting the stage for Erin Sheeran, who is a triplet with Catherine and sister Charlotte. Erin Sheeran was looking to hit and blooped a ball to right center that easily scored Catherine with the go-ahead run.

“It was just a yeet and pray, honestly,” Erin Sheeran said. “I didn’t think it went that far. When I got to first, that’s when I say Catie and I got surprised.”

Kayleigh Chaiyabhat made sure the runs stuck. The senior ace struck out the first batter she faced before giving up an infield single. Any hopes Barrington had of starting a rally were quickly snuffed out, as Chaiyabhat struck out the final two batters of the game to secure the win and send East Greenwich home in a game that either took two week or two hours to 30 minutes to play, depending on how you looked at it.

“I trust my team, I trust my defense and I knew what pitches I was going to throw,” Chaiyabhat said. “I was working through it in warmups so I knew what I was going to do – just stay locked in no matter what.”

After the delay for the game to get finished on May 6 and the heat delay on Wednesday, there is a delay to find out what the win means for the playoffs. Barrington did not enter the final score into the RIIL website on Wednesday, so complete playoff results weren’t available.

East Greenwich was seeded fifth with 3.023 RPI points, putting it .234 behind Kent County for fourth. Barrington was sixth with 2.896 points, putting it .033 points ahead of Ponaganset.

This story will be updated once Barrington High School inputs results.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Score from East Greenwich at Barrington softball on Wednesday May 20 2026