With a doubleheader split on Monday against Colgate, Bucknell head softball coach Sarah (Sigrest) Caffrey picked up her 50th career coaching victory and moved into a tie for sixth-most in program history.

Eastern Shore softball fans would remember her as the Daphne Trojans’ ace pitcher from 2004-08 who still holds the Alabama High School Athletic Association record with 33 career shutouts. She also remains second all-time with 11 perfect games in her career as well as 14 no-hitters and 622 strikeouts in a single season, both from her senior year.

A member of Daphne High School’s Hall of Fame Class of 2018, Caffrey has been coaching at Bucknell in Pennsylvania since August of 2020 after previous coaching stops at Penn State, Utah State and Texas Tech. Now in her fourth season as head coach of her own program, the Bison are looking for a repeat trip to the Patriot League Tournament where they earned the fourth and final seed last year with a six-game win streak to close the regular season.

Coach’s reaction

Bucknell took a step on Monday after it bounced back from two losses to Colgate with a win in the last game of Monday’s doubleheader. The Bison entered this weekend’s series against Boston University with a 6-6 mark in conference play.

"I'm proud of our response in game three with Colgate. They are a tough team and things didn't go our way, but I love that we put up a fight, and I'm proud of our offense for how they competed,” Caffrey said after Monday’s game. "As for the 50th win, I'm just grateful for this program and all the players and assistant coaches that helped me get to where we are now. I credit these seniors so much, they were part of every single one and they have believed in this culture the entire way."

No sweat in transition to college play

After graduating from Daphne, Caffrey was similarly dominant in the pitcher’s circle on the collegiate level for the Jacksonville Dolphins. She remains the program’s all-time leader in wins (68) and saves (6) as well as sits second all-time in strikeouts (613) and earned-run average (1.97) for her career.

She was named the Atlantic Sun Pitcher of the Year in 2011 when she recorded 27 wins for a single-season school record as Jacksonville won the conference and earned its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance. Also that year, she ranked eighth in the country with a 1.10 ERA and became first Dolphin pitcher to rack up 200 strikeouts in a single season.

Star-studded high school career

It likely came as no surprise after Caffrey set records on the high school stage where she still sits in the top 10 of nine categories and the top 20 of four more. She helped Daphne win two area championships, go to three state quarterfinals and advance to two state finals. She was a three-time all-state honoree and represented Daphne as the Class 6A Pitcher of the Year to also earn a spot on the Super All-State team as a senior.

Many of Caffrey’s marks from her time as a Trojan still rate highly in the AHSAA record books. Her 5 perfect games from the 2008 season sit No. 3, her 83 career saves and 27 career no-hitters rank No. 5 and her 1,816 career strikeouts are seventh.

In the single-game strikeout rankings, her 27-strikeout effort in a 13-inning game against Baldwin County in 2006 is the eighth-most all-time. She also recorded a 24-strikeout perfect game over 8 innings against Spain Park in 2007 which ranks No. 15, a 21-strikeout outing over 9 innings against Flomaton in 2006 for 29th and a 20-strikeout performance over 7 innings against Citronelle in 2008 for 39th overall.

She’s also still in the top 20 for innings pitched and wins for both a single season and her career. Caffrey’s 313 innings pitched in 2005 ranked No. 14 and her 1,024 career innings pitched is No. 15. Her 42 wins her senior season in 2008 are No. 17 and her 126 career wins rank No. 20.