Buffenbarger is in her first season as a member of the Dayton softball staff for the 2025 season and will serve as the pitching coach.
She comes to Dayton after spending the 2024 season on staff at Mount St. Joseph in Cincinnati. The Lions finished third in the Heartland Conference regular season standings and were runners-up in the conference tournament. MSJ pitcher Casey Kemp was named First Team All-Conference and to the All-Tournament Team following the 2024 campaign.
Prior to MSJ, Buffenbarger spent one season at Youngstown State following a decorated career as an ace on the Penguins pitching staff.
Youngstown State softball's all-time wins and strikeouts leader, Buffenbarger finished her career with a 63-33 record and a 3.01 earned run average, and set the school records for career wins and career strikeouts with 744. In 2021, the Mason, Ohio, native earned NFCA All-Region Third-Team honors and went 20-4 with 212 strikeouts, a 2.16 earned run average and an opponent batting average of .198 and was named the Horizon League's Pitcher of the Year.
During her final season in 2022, Buffenbarger was named All-Horizon League Second-Team and went 21-10 with a single-season record 224 strikeouts and a 2.88 earned-run average. She led the Horizon League in strikeouts, including fanning eight in 6.2 innings to break the YSU career strikeout record against Penn on Feb. 25.
She earned a bachelor's degree from YSU in December of 2021.
