Penn State Brandywine Wins 1st USCAA Softball Small College World Series Title

DUBOIS, Pa. - In their eighth straight appearance at the USCAA Softball Small College World Series, Penn State Brandywine finally broke through to capture the 2023 USCAA National Championship on Thursday for their first softball title in school history. The Lions topped Mississippi University for Women 10-9 on a walkoff single to avoid the "if necessary" championship game and seal their place in history.

After MUW took a 9-8 lead with a four-run seventh inning, Brandywine responded immediately. An infield single from Lexi Bussenger got the tying run on board, and a triple from Jess James tied the game at 9-9 with no outs, setting the stage for Kaylee Mushinski. Mushinski came through with a single through the left side to push James across the plate and the celebration was on.

Meghan Ferry was named Tournament MVP after driving in two runs in the championship game and finishing with nine total RBIs in four games. Crystal Cassario earned the win in the championship game after a pitcher by committee rotation employed by the champions. April Lewandowski gave up two runs in three innings, and was relieved by Maddie DeFazio who pitched into the seventh. With a one-run lead, Cassario came in and ultimately gave up the go-ahead hit to MUW. But her teammates quickly picked her up to push across the final two runs of the tournament.

Brandywine pushed across three runs in the first inning, looking to put a mark on the game early. MUW responded with two runs in the second before Brandywine added one more run for a 4-2 lead after three innings. A scoreless fourth, the only inning of the game to go without runs, led to a MUW run in the fifth. MUW piled two more runs in the sixth to grab a 5-4 advantage, but the lead would be short lived. The Lions pushed across four runs of their own in the sixth for an 8-5 lead. Ferry's two-run double broke a 5-5 tie during that inning.

MUW would not go quietly in their final at-bat, tallying four runs, including a homer, to take a 9-8 lead and set-up an opportunity to push the championship series to a winner-take-all if necessary game. That's when Brandywine's bats came up in their biggest moment, leading to Mushinski's game-winning hit.

Brandywine has perennially contended at the USCAA tournament, finishing third and fourth multiple times over the years. But 2023's script ended differently, as hardware now travels home with the Lions after four straight wins this week.

Brandywine entered the tournament as the overall no. 2 seed, and toppled D'Youville in the quarterfinals with a thrilling 8-7 win. In the semifinals of the double-elimination tournament Brandywine squared off with a familiar foe--Penn State New Kensington--and strolled to an 11-2 win, their only win in the tournament by more than one run.

In the winner's bracket final, Salem awaited the Lions and a pitcher's duel ensued as Crystal Cassario tossed a five-hit shutout as her offense pushed across its sole run in the fourth inning to advance them to the championship game on Thursday.

The championship now gives Brandywine a USCAA National Title in multiple sports, as its men's soccer team won championships in 2018 and 2021, becoming the first PSUAC team to do so.