# Rhode Island Rams softball

The Rhode Island Rams softball team represents the University of Rhode Island in NCAA Division I college softball. The team participates in the Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10). The Rams are currently led by head coach Whitney Goldstein. The team plays its home games at URI Softball Complex located on the university's campus.

## History

Despite making the NCAA Division I softball tournament in their first season in the Atlantic 10 Conference in 1983, the Rams have failed to return to win either a regular season or a conference tournament championship. By failing to win the latter, they have also failed to return to the NCAA tournament.
In the 1983 tournament, Rhode Island was placed in the Northeast Regional, where they were eliminated by UCLA in two games, both 1–0 extra inning losses.
The Rams have won several awards during their stint in the Atlantic 10. In 1994, Melissa Jarrell was named A–10 Coach of the Year. The program has won three A–10 Player of the Year awards, doing so in 1994 with Anne Kelsen and in 1997 and 1998 with Kellie Cookus.
In April 2014, six former players, two then-active players, and one assistant coach came out with accusations of alleged bullying by former head coach Erin Layton. The accusers claim abuse was overlooked by University of Rhode Island administration for years, with only a brief administrative leave as punishment. Several players and assistants reported mental and physical abuse dealt out by Layton. Despite the allegations, Layton received both a contract extension in July 2014 as well as the full support of the school, who stated that complaints were taken seriously and no wrongdoing was found to have occurred. Layton left the program after the 2015 season.

### Rhode Island in the NCAA Tournament

| Year | Record | Pct | Notes |
| 1983 | 0–2 | .000 | Northeast Regional |
| TOTALS | 0-2 | .000 | |

### Coaching history

| Years | Coach | Record | % |
| 1978–1984 | Nancy Langham | 164–70–1 | .700 |
| 1985–1992 | Sue Tougas | 131–201–3 | .396 |
| 1993–1999 | Melissa Jarrell | 156–189–2 | .452 |
| 2000–2002 | Kim Staehle | 70–89–1 | .441 |
| 2003–2005 | Christina Sutcliffe | 44–88 | .333 |
| 2006–2008 | Deb Smith | 44–100 | .306 |
| 2009–2015 | Erin Layton | 87–260–2 | .252 |
| 2016–2021 | Bridget Hurlman | 61–167 | .268 |
| 2022–present | Whitney Goldstein | 34–66–1 | .342 |

## Season by season results

Statistics overview :
| Season | Coach | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason |
| Rhode Island Rams (AIAW) (1978–1982) ||||||
| 1978 | Nancy Langham | 15–7 | | | |
| 1979 | Nancy Langham | 24–6 | | | |
| 1980 | Nancy Langham | 23–7 | | | |
| 1981 | Nancy Langham | 26–12 | | | |
| 1982 | Nancy Langham | 27–14–1 | | | |
| Rhode Island Rams (Atlantic 10 Conference) (1983–present) ||||||
| 1983 | Nancy Langham | 28–10 | | 2nd | NCAA Regionals |
| 1984 | Nancy Langham | 21–11 | | | |
| 1985 | Sue Tougas | 22–19–1 | 3–7 | 5th | |
| 1986 | Sue Tougas | 27–23–1 | 6–4 | 5th | |
| 1987 | Sue Tougas | 11–27 | 5–5 | 4th | |
| 1988 | Sue Tougas | 16–31 | 5–7 | 5th | |
| 1989 | Sue Tougas | 16–28 | 6–6 | T–4th | |
| 1990 | Sue Tougas | 16–21 | 5–7 | 5th | |
| 1991 | Sue Tougas | 12–28–1 | 1–9 | 6th | |
| 1992 | Sue Tougas | 11–24 | 7–3 | 2nd | |
| 1993 | Melissa Jarrell | 15–29 | 2–8 | 5th | |
| 1994 | Melissa Jarrell | 27–28 | 7–3 | 2nd | |
| 1995 | Melissa Jarrell | 23–26 | 5–5 | 4th | |
| 1996 | Melissa Jarrell | 25–22 | 10–6 | 3rd | |
| 1997 | Melissa Jarrell | 25–20–1 | 7–8–1 | 6th | |
| 1998 | Melissa Jarrell | 21–29 | 7–8 | 5th | |
| 1999 | Melissa Jarrell | 20–35–1 | 6–10 | 6th | |
| 2000 | Kim Staehle | 20–30–1 | 6–9 | 7th | |
| 2001 | Kim Staehle | 30–30 | 9–11 | 5th | |
| 2002 | Kim Staehle | 20–29 | 13–9 | T–2nd | |
| 2003 | Christina Sutcliffe | 21–22 | 8–8 | 6th | |
| 2004 | Christina Sutcliffe | 15–31 | 2–8 | 7th | |
| 2005 | Christina Sutcliffe | 8–35 | 3–11 | 8th | |
| 2006 | Deb Smith | 20–27 | 8–12 | T–6th | |
| 2007 | Deb Smith | 10–35 | 3–14 | 11th | |
| 2008 | Deb Smith | 14–38 | 4–16 | 11th | |
| 2009 | Erin Layton | 14–37 | 3–17 | 11th | |
| 2010 | Erin Layton | 19–35 | 8–12 | T–6th | |
| 2011 | Erin Layton | 7–46 | 2–18 | 1th | |
| 2012 | Erin Layton | 21–32–1 | 5–14–1 | 10th | |
| 2013 | Erin Layton | 10–37 | 3–18 | 11th | |
| 2014 | Erin Layton | 13–32–1 | 6–11–1 | 8th | |
| 2015 | Erin Layton | 3–41 | 1–21 | 10th | |
| 2016 | Bridget Hurlman | 12–32 | 3–18 | 10th | |
| 2017 | Bridget Hurlman | 11–31 | 8–13 | 8th | |
| 2018 | Bridget Hurlman | 12–35 | 3–17 | 8th | |
| 2019 | Bridget Hurlman | 17–29 | 6–14 | 8th | |
| 2020 | Bridget Hurlman | 4–16 | 0–0 | N/A | Season cut short due to COVID-19 Pandemic |
| 2021 | Bridget Hurlman | 5–22 | 2–12 | 8th | |
| 2022 | Whitney Goldstein | 11–35 | 4–19 | 9th | |
| 2023 | Whitney Goldstein | 23–31–1 | 12–13 | 6th | |
| 2024 | Whitney Goldstein | 0–0 | 0–0 | | |
| Total: | Total: | 791–1,230–10 (.392) | | | |
| National champion   Postseason invitational champion   Conference regular season champion   Conference regular season and conference tournament champion  Division regular season champion  Division regular season and conference tournament champion  Conference tournament champion ||||||