Swarthmore Claims Victories Over Brandywine

SWARTHMORE, Pa. – The Penn State Brandywine softball team dropped both ends of a non-conference doubleheader Thursday as Swarthmore rallied to win game one 10-2 and claimed game two by a 6-4 score.

Game One: Swarthmore 10, Penn State Brandywine 2

Brandywine led 2-0 entering the bottom of the fifth inning, but the Garnet struck for five runs in their half of the fifth and followed with five more tallies in the sixth.

Karly Rees (Oxford, Pa./Oxford) and Crystal Cassario (Levittown, Pa./Pennsbury) both went 3-for-3 at the plate for the Lions, who tallied nine hits, but stranded 10 runners on base. Gianna Casale (Hamilton, N.J./Steinert) reached base safely three times via two walks and a hit by pitch.

Rees' two-out single scored Meghan Ferry (Gloucester City, N.J./Gloucester City) with the game's first run in the third inning. Lianna DeDios (Elmwood Park, N.J./Memorial) added an RBI single that pushed Rees across home two frames later.

Cassario struck out five in five innings in the circle, but received the loss after yielding five runs on 10 hits.

Game Two: Swarthmore 6, Penn State Brandywine 4

After Swarthmore built a six-run lead, the Lions' late rally fell short as Brandywine dropped a 6-4, six-inning decision in the nightcap.

The Garnet plated four runs in the third inning and tacked on two more during the fourth.

Held hitless through four innings, Brandywine's offense got going in the fifth as Payton Landis (Coatesville, Pa./Coatesville) started the frame with a triple. Three batters later, Landis scored when Becky Valente (Royersford, Pa./Spring-Ford) singled through the middle.

Brandywine had two runners in scoring position in the sixth for Landis, who pushed Ferry across home with a ground out. Cassario followed with a run-scoring base hit that plated Rees to make the count 6-3. Jess James (Yardley, Pa./Pennsbury) worked a two-out, bases-loaded walk to force in another run, but Meg Ozawa recorded a groundout to avoid further damage.

Ozawa pitched the first four innings and recorded the final out of the sixth to earn the win. She struck out eight, while Rebecca Halford (Garnet Valley, Pa./Garnet Valley) dropped to 5-5 after allowing five earned runs and fanning one in four innings for the Lions. Brandywine's offense produced five hits: four singles and Landis' fifth-inning triple.

Brandywine (12-8, 2-0 PSUAC) returns to conference play Friday at Penn State Mont Alto at 2:00 PM.