It is never easy to replace a legendary coach.
Before stepping down in April 2024, Mike Carrier was head coach of the Bucksport High School softball team for 34 seasons and led the Bucks to 527 wins, nine regional championships and five state titles between classes B and C. The Bucks played in 23 regional championship games.
He had been an assistant at Bucksport under Bob Mercer for seven years, and they won three state titles together.
Carrier decided to retire last year after Bucksport administrators advised him to step down for the rest of the season for making an inappropriate comment to a player.
Rich Rotella and Corey Bires took over as the co-coaches of the team and guided the Bucks to a Class C North title before losing to Hall-Dale of Farmingdale 6-3 in the state final. The Bucks wound up 18-2.
Rotella was eventually named the head coach, and he had a successful debut on Wednesday as his Bucks beat Ellsworth/George Stevens Academy 8-1.
“The program is in great shape. Coach Carrier set the program up to succeed. It’s nice to be able to fit right in and continue that legacy,” said Rotella, a 49-year-old native of West Warwick, Rhode Island, and the director of community and economic development for Bucksport.
Rotella was an assistant coach and the jayvee coach for seven years under Carrier after spending eight years as the Bucksport middle school softball coach.
“This is a great opportunity,” said Rotella, a graduate of Waterville’s Thomas College. “I’ve been in the program for such a long time, and I’ve learned so much from coach Carrier.”
He said one of the biggest things Carrier instilled in him was the need to develop pitching depth.
If his number two and three pitchers were starting position players for the varsity, he would also have them pitch in jayvee games so they would be ready to step in and pitch for the varsity when the number one pitcher graduated or sustained an injury.
“That’s why we’ve been able to reload,” Rotella said.
Rotella had some work to do in the offseason to prepare for the job. He had to “completely overhaul” his coaching staff. He was the only returnee from among the varsity, jayvee and middle school programs.
“But I was able to get a lot of great coaches,” said Rotella, who is assisted by Lester Cowan, who is also the jayvee coach, along with the mother-daughter team of Ashley and Alyssa Maguire.
“The players have risen to the occasion. I told them everything is earned, nothing is given,” said Rotella. “They have embraced it, and I couldn’t be more thrilled.”
Rotella’s Bucks graduated three All-Penobscot Valley Conference Class C infielders in first team shortstop Samantha Cyr, second team second baseman Lily Chiavelli and third team third baseman Jayden Tripp.
Cyr was the lead-off hitter, Chiavelli was the clean-up hitter, and Tripp hit fifth.
But he did return Pitcher of the Year Natalie Simpson and Player of the Year Jetta Shook, the catcher.
All-PVC third team outfielder Allvia Shute, a junior, is now the shortstop; sophomore Marina Keene, the number two pitcher, is the starting second baseman; and freshman Addison Harvey is at third. Harvey is also the No. 3 pitcher.
Allison Hanscom returns as the starting first baseman and fellow junior Lexi Raymond is back in center field.
Bri Rotella, a junior and the coach’s daughter, starts in left and another junior, Layken Varnum plays right field.
Rich Rotella doesn’t use a designated hitter, but, if he did, he said sophomore Emma Clement and freshman back-up catcher Addison Fitch would be candidates for that role.
Seniors Paige Bowden and Brooke Elden are reserve infielders.
Shook, Simpson and Shute are the offensive catalysts.
Raymond, a lefthanded-hitting leadoff hitter, and Keene, who hits second, are the productive table-setters for those three who are in the middle of the order. Shook hits third, Simpson is in the cleanup spot and Shute hits fifth. Hanscom, Harvey, Rotella and Varnum round out the batting order, and all of them can hit, according to the coach.
He said the team looks sharp defensively and Simpson has been outstanding in the circle with her repertoire of pitches.
“And she has added a new pitch, a dropball,” said Rotella.
Winning a state championship has always been the goal for the Bucks as it is again this season.
“It’s going to be a tough battle in Class C,” said Rotella, noting that they have two games apiece against All-PVC first team pitchers Jillian Severance from Orono and Bella Cirone from Washington Academy in East Machias.
“And we’ve added Mattanawcook Academy to our schedule this year,” he pointed out.
The Bucks beat Lincoln-based Mattanawcook Academy in the C North final 4-0 last spring.
Bucksport hosts Severance and her Red Riots at 1 p.m. Friday.
