# Bucknell Bison softball

The Bucknell Bison softball team represents Bucknell University in NCAA Division I college softball. The team participates in the Patriot League, having joined in 1991. From 1979 until 1990, the team was a member of the East Coast Conference (ECC). The Bison are currently led by head coach Sarah Caffrey. The team plays its home games at Becker Field located on the university's campus.

## History

The Bison have found moderate success since becoming a Division I program. The team has won two Patriot League regular season championships, although both championships, first in 1994 and again in 1999, were as a result of a tie. The program has also won two Patriot League Tournament championships, doing so in 1997 and in 2010, with the latter earing them a berth in the NCAA Division I softball tournament.
After finishing in third place in the Patriot League, the Bison qualified for the Patriot League Tournament as the #3 seed. The team defeated Colgate in the championship game by a score of 6-4, winning the tournament for the first time since 1997 and clinching their first appearance in the NCAA tournament. In the 2010 tournament, the Bison were eliminated after losing to California and Ohio State.
The Bison have won several awards during their time in the Patriot League. The team has won five Patriot League Player of the Year awards, doing so in 1993 with Lisa Fink, 1999 with Jenny Snyder, 2005 with Lauren Wible, 2011 with Alison Ford, and in 2015 with Kristen Zahn. The team has also won the Patriot League Coach of the Year award seven times, doing so in 1994, 1996, and 1999 with Terrie Grieb, 2004 with Janelle Breneman, 2008 with Heather Rakosik, 2015 with Bonnie Skrenta, and 2019 with Joey Lye.
Sarah Caffrey was hired as the program's head coach in 2020.

### Coaching history

| Years | Coach | Record | % |
| 1979–1990, 1992–2000 | Terrie Grieb | 307–324–2 | .487 |
| 1991 | Dale Franquet | 28–12–1 | .695 |
| 2001–2004 | Janelle Breneman | 56–117–1 | .325 |
| 2005–2012 | Heather Rakosik | 141–243–2 | .368 |
| 2013–2015 | Bonnie Skrenta | 79–76 | .510 |
| 2016–2017 | Courtnay Foster | 50–43 | .538 |
| 2018–2020 | Joey Lye | 63–60–1 | .512 |
| 2021–present | Sarah Caffrey | 35–80–1 | .306 |

## Season by season results

Statistics overview :
| Season | Coach | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason |
| Bucknell Bison (East Coast Conference) (1979–1990) ||||||
| 1979 | Terrie Grieb | 8–4 | | | |
| 1980 | Terrie Grieb | 7–8 | | | |
| 1981 | Terrie Grieb | 7–10 | | | |
| 1982 | Terrie Grieb | 6–11 | | | |
| 1983 | Terrie Grieb | 7–14 | | | |
| 1984 | Terrie Grieb | 9–9–1 | 4–2 | | |
| 1985 | Terrie Grieb | 10–12 | 6–6 | | |
| 1986 | Terrie Grieb | 12–12 | 5–7 | | |
| 1987 | Terrie Grieb | 10–16–1 | 4–8 | | |
| 1988 | Terrie Grieb | 24–9 | 7–5 | | |
| 1989 | Terrie Grieb | 18–17 | 6–8 | | |
| 1990 | Terrie Grieb | 20–14 | 9–5 | | |
| Bucknell Bison (Patriot League) (1991–present) ||||||
| 1991 | Dale Franquet | 28–12–1 | 9–3 | 2nd | |
| 1992 | Terrie Grieb | 20–17 | 7–5 | T–3rd | |
| 1993 | Terrie Grieb | 27–8 | 8–4 | 2nd | |
| 1994 | Terrie Grieb | 17–21 | 10–2 | T–1st | |
| 1995 | Terrie Grieb | 19–23 | 7–5 | T–2nd | |
| 1996 | Terrie Grieb | 20–15 | 7–3 | T–2nd | |
| 1997 | Terrie Grieb | 18–30 | 6–4 | T–2nd | |
| 1998 | Terrie Grieb | 18–20 | 12–6 | 2nd | |
| 1999 | Terrie Grieb | 19–28 | 12–8 | T–1st | |
| 2000 | Terrie Grieb | 11–26 | 2–8 | 6th | |
| 2001 | Janelle Breneman | 19–26–2 | 8–12 | 5th | |
| 2002 | Janelle Breneman | 12–32 | 5–15 | 5th | |
| 2003 | Janelle Breneman | 11–33 | 6–14 | 5th | |
| 2004 | Janelle Breneman | 14–26 | 8–12 | 4th | |
| 2005 | Heather Rakosik | 16–22 | 8–10 | 4th | |
| 2006 | Heather Rakosik | 15–37 | 8–12 | 5th | |
| 2007 | Heather Rakosik | 15–33–1 | 7–12 | 5th | |
| 2008 | Heather Rakosik | 23–29 | 13–7 | T–2nd | |
| 2009 | Heather Rakosik | 19–32 | 9–11 | 3rd | |
| 2010 | Heather Rakosik | 28–20–1 | 11–9 | 3rd | NCAA Regionals |
| 2011 | Heather Rakosik | 14–36 | 5–15 | T–5th | |
| 2012 | Heather Rakosik | 11–34 | 5–15 | 5th | |
| 2013 | Bonnie Skrenta | 21–30 | 11–9 | 3rd | |
| 2014 | Bonnie Skrenta | 23–26 | 10–8 | 3rd | |
| 2015 | Bonnie Skrenta | 35–20 | 12–6 | 2nd | |
| 2016 | Courtnay Foster | 27–23 | 11–7 | 4th | |
| 2017 | Courtnay Foster | 23–20 | 6–11 | 5th | |
| 2018 | Joey Lye | 27–23–1 | 13–5 | 2nd | |
| 2019 | Joey Lye | 28–24 | 14–3 | 2nd | |
| 2020 | Joey Lye | 8–14 | 0–0 | N/A | Season cut short due to COVID-19 Pandemic |
| 2021 | Sarah Caffrey | 12–18–1 | 9–14–1 | 5th | |
| 2022 | Sarah Caffrey | 7–38 | 3–15 | 6th | |
| 2023 | Sarah Caffrey | 16–30 | 8–10 | 4th | |
| 2024 | Sarah Caffrey | 0–0 | 0–0 | | |
| Total: | Total: | 759–955–8 (.443) | | | |
| 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 ||||||