Craddock’s Walk-Off Single Sends Brandywine To United East Championship

READING, Pa. – Ava Craddock (Springfield, Pa./Springfield) delivered a walk-off single in the bottom of the seventh inning to lift second-seeded Penn State Brandywine to a 6-5 triumph over fourth-seeded Penn College, sending the Lions to the United East Conference Softball Tournament championship game on Sunday. Brandywine advanced to meet Penn College in a winners' bracket game following a 6-2 victory over No. 3 Penn State Harrisburg earlier Saturday.

Game One: Penn State Brandywine 6, Penn State Harrisburg 2

Brandywine struck for four first-inning runs and never relinquished the lead as the Lions opened the double-elimination portion of the tournament with a 6-2 win over Penn State Harrisburg.

April Lewandowski (Atco, N.J./Hammonton) allowed a first-inning run, but Brandywine answered with four scores on four hits during its half of the first. Lexi Bussenger (Bangor, Pa./Bangor) legged out an infield single, stole second and scored on Emma McElroy's (Mountainside, N.J./Governor Livingston) base hit to even the score. Two batters later, Craddock doubled in McElroy with the go-ahead run, while Madie Culbertson (Havertown, Pa./Haverford) tacked on a two-run double to make the count 4-1.

Kaylee Mushinski (Allentown, N.J./Allentown) lifted a solo home run over the right-center field fence up the Lions' lead to 5-1 in the third and McElroy's sacrifice fly plated Gigi Duca (Bear, Del./Smyrna) one frame later.

Harrisburg recorded a two-out run in the seventh and had two runners in scoring position, but Lewandowski recorded her season-high ninth strikeout of the day to end the game.

Lewandowski earned her 17^th victory of the season and 44^th of her career, tying Crystal Cassario for the program's all-time lead. Lewandowski scattered 13 hits, while allowing just two runs.

Bussenger, McElroy and Craddock all tallied to hits for the Lions' offense. Bussenger swiped two bases and McElroy stole one.

Game Two: Penn State Brandywine 6, Penn College 5

Craddock lined a single into the right-center field gap, allowing McElroy to score the game-winning run from second base as Brandywine made a late rally to defeat Penn College 6-5.

Tied 5-5, McElroy got the bottom of the seventh inning started by legging out an infield single to third. After Mushinski's sacrifice bunt moved McElroy to second, Craddock laced her third hit of the game and fifth of the day out of the reach of the Penn College right fielder to give the Lions the victory.

For the second game in a row, Brandywine built a three-run lead through one inning. Bussenger and McElroy both singled and stole a base to put two runners in scoring position for Mushinski, who dropped down a bunt single to allow Bussenger to score. Back-to-back run-scoring ground balls from Craddock and Shelby DeCillis (Iselin, N.J./Colonia) added two more runs.

The Wildcats tallied an unearned run in the second, but Brandywine pushed the lead back to three when Culbertson led off the fourth inning with a triple and later stole home.

Penn College mounted a sixth-inning rally as the Wildcats took their first lead. The first five batters of the inning reached base safely and PCT tallied five hits overall during the frame to push four runs across and take a 5-4 edge.

Culbertson started the bottom of the sixth with a base hit and was on third base with two outs when Sam Gonchar (Brick Township, N.J./Monroe Township) recorded a clutch pinch-hit, infield single to drive in Culbertson with the game-tying run.

Kylie Ferris (Hazlet, N.J./St. John Vianney) retired Penn College in order during the top of the seventh to set up Craddock's walk-off single.

Culbertson was 3-for-3 at the plate and scored twice, while Craddock also had three hits and drove in a pair of runs. McElroy added two hits, two runs and a stolen base.

Ferris earned the win in the circle, her fifth of the season. She pitched two innings of relief, allowing one run on two hits, while striking out one. Isabella Hurta (Colts Neck, N.J./Red Bank Catholic) tossed the first five-plus innings, recording three strikeouts, while yielding three earned runs and eight hits.

Brandywine (34-8) will play for its first-ever United East Conference championship at noon on Sunday against an opponent that will be determined by Sunday's first game (10:00 AM). The Lions won nine-straight conference championships prior to beginning their first season of United East play in 2025.