Brandywine Pours It On Mont Alto; Advances To Second-Straight National Championship Game
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Penn State Mont Alto | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 |
|
Penn State Brandywine | 3 | 0 | 5 | 4 | X | 12 | 13 | 0 |
DUBOIS, Pa. – No. 1 Penn State Brandywine will play for its second-straight United States Collegiate Athletic Association Softball National Championship after routing second-seeded Penn State Mont Alto 12-0 in five innings on Wednesday afternoon.
After capturing its first-ever national title in 2023, Brandywine will face an opponent still to be determined on Thursday at Heindl Field looking to repeat as national champions.
The Lions' offense got started quickly, scoring three times on four hits during the first inning. For the third-straight game, Lexi Bussenger (Bangor, Pa./Bangor) extended her hitting streak with a first-inning base hit, pushing the streak to 46-straight games. After swiping third, Bussenger crossed home via Emily Reagan's (Harrisburg, Pa./Bishop McDevitt) double. Reagan moved to third when Kaylee Mushinski (Allentown, N.J./Allentown) singled and scored on Payton Landis' (Coatesville, Pa./Coatesville) base hit. Mushinski later scored thanks to Karly Rees' (Oxford, Pa./Oxford) groundout.
Mushinski's leadoff triple began a five-run rally during the third inning. Landis singled in Mushinski before Crystal Cassario (Levittown, Pa./Pennsbury) doubled in two runs. Jess James (Yardley, Pa./Pennsbury) used a wild pitch to cross home and Reagan capped the scoring with a sacrifice fly, plating Cassario.
Brandywine padded its lead with four more runs in the fourth. Cassario singled in Rees, while Meghan Ferry (Gloucester City, N.J./Gloucester City) tripled in two runs and scored on Naya Rivera's (Mays Landing, N.J./Oakcrest) groundout.
Brandywine's offense put 13 hits on the board led by a 3-for-3 day from Landis. Mushinski and James both added two hits and scored two runs.
In additional to collecting two hits and three RBI at the plate, Cassario spun a five-hit shutout to win her 15th game of the spring. She struck out three Mont Alto batters, while twirling a shutout to send Brandywine to the national championship game for the second-straight year.
Brandywine (37-8) will look to set a new program single-season record for victories when the national championship game begins Thursday at noon.
