Joey Lye Named to Softball Canada Roster for Olympic Qualifying Tournament

LEWISBURG, Pa. -- While en route to Lima, Peru for the 2019 Pan American Games, Bucknell head softball coach Joey Lye learned some good news: she has made the Team Canada roster for the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Softball Americas Tournament, which is a qualification event for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Lye just completed her second season as head coach at Bucknell -- she led the Bison to a 14-3 record in Patriot League play in 2019 -- and the Toronto native has remained an active player with the Canadian National Team. Lye debuted with Team Canada in 2010 and helped the team earn a bronze medal at the WBSC World Championships in Venezuela. She has competed in every World Championship since then, and she was also part of Pan American Games teams that won gold medals in 2015 and silver medals in 2011.

Lye spent this summer playing with the Canadian Wild in the National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) League. The team is based out of Marion, Illinois but is entirely made up of players from the Canadian National Team. Lye hit .304, helping the Canadian Wild to a third-place finish in the six-team league with a 21-19-1 record.

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Team Canada is now in Lima for the Pan Am Games, with the women's softball tournament slated to run from Aug. 4-10. The United States, Mexico, Peru, Puerto Rico and Venezuela are also in the field. Preliminary round games get underway on Sunday, with the gold medal games set for the following Saturday, Aug. 10. The Pan Am games can be seen on ESPNU, ESPN Deportes and ESPN3 on the ESPN App.

Later in the month -- Aug. 25 to Sept. 1 -- Lye and Team Canada will play in the Softball Americas Tournament in Surrey, British Columbia, with two Olympic berths on the line. The tournament will have a 12-team field, and the top two squads will earn spots in Toyko.

Team Canada is currently ranked third in the world behind the United States and Japan. Canada won the bronze medal at both the 2016 and 2018 World Championships, finishing behind the U.S. and Japan both times. One bit of good news for Team Canada is that the United States has already qualified for the Olympics as winner of the 2018 World Championships and thus will not need to participate in the Softball Americas Tournament.

"The Southern Illinois Miners have been impressive hosts and provided us with a true pro-team feel," said Lye after the NPF season ended last week. "This summer has been the most challenging and rewarding schedule we have ever played, and it is evident with regard to our continuous improvement on the field. The buy-in from every staff member and every player is unreal to see and such an enjoyable environment to train in and live in. We are very excited to put our Team Canada uniforms back on and use all of our preparation for these next two tournaments."

While Lye continues to compete at a world-class level, several of her Bucknell softball student-athletes have also had productive summers on the diamond.

Nicole Rivait and Allyse Volpe played for the Team Canada Juniors at the Canada Cup and will be playing at the U-19 Women's Softball World Cup in Irvine, Calif., from Aug. 10-17.
Raeanne Geffert played for the CT Brakettes
Lauren Lichtenwalner played for the Spooky Nook U-23 team, where she was joined by recent graduate Anna Gimmestad '19
Sarah Baluch played with the Stampede U-19 squad
Kailyn Lorberter played with the Monarchs 18 Gold
Kaiya Burton played with the Brampton Blazers U-19 team