Penn State Brandywine claimed its ninth-straight conference championship on May 6
MEDIA, Pa. — Top-seeded Penn State Brandywine clinched its ninth-straight Penn State University Athletic Conference Softball Championship by besting No. 2 Penn State Mont Alto 8-0 to sweep the best-of-three championship series on May 6 at Nittany Lion Softball Field.
Brandywine, which was staked to a 1-0 series lead following Sunday's 5-1 triumph, clinched the title by an 8-0 count for the second consecutive year and the third time in four seasons. The Lions have won five of their nine conference championships via eight-run rule.
Brandywine's offense backed starting pitcher April Lewandowski with 13 hits in five innings. Karly Rees was 3-for-3 at the plate, while Lexi Bussenger, Jess James and Payton Landis all tallied two hits. Bussenger also stole two bases and crossed home twice.
Lewandowski improved to 14-2 in the circle this spring after spinning her sixth shutout. She struck out three batters and limited the Mont Alto offense to four hits. She worked out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the fifth by getting a popup and a ground ball back to the circle to preserve the shutout.
The Lions' offense struck early, sending nine batters to the plate during a five-hit, four-run first inning. Bussenger led off with a base hit and two batters later, Kaylee Mushinski launched her conference-leading ninth home run over the left field fence. Following Mushinski's long ball, Brandywine loaded the bases with two outs for James, who delivered a two-run double into the left-center field gap.
Brandywine put the game away by scoring four more times in the fourth. Bussenger singled in James and came around to score on Emily Reagan's base hit. Two batters later, Landis added a run-scoring single that plated Isabella Hurta. Rees capped the scoring with an RBI triple.
Brandywine (34-8), the defending USCAA National Champion, is the No. 1 seed in the 10-team USCAA World Series, which begins Monday, May 13 in DuBois, Pennsylvania.
