Brandywine Outlasts Schuylkill In PSUAC Tournament Thriller

WEST CHESTER, Pa. -- Emily Reagan's (Harrisburg, Pa./Bishop McDevitt) game-winning single ended the longest game in Penn State Brandywine softball history and sent the top-seeded Lions to a ninth-straight Penn State University Athletic Conference Championship as Brandywine outlasted No. 4 Penn State Schuylkill 6-5 in 10 innings on Saturday afternoon.

Reagan's bloop single landed between a pair of Schuylkill outfielders in right-center field, allowing Kaylee Mushinski (Allentown, N.J./Allentown) to score from second base with the game-winning run.

Schuylkill scored single runs during the first and fifth innings, while Brandywine pushed across runs during the second and third frames as the teams entered extra innings tied at 2-2.

The visitors scored a run during each extra frame against Brandywine's Crystal Cassario (Levittown, Pa./Pennsbury), but the Lions had an answer each time.

Meghan Ferry (Gloucester City, N.J./Gloucester City) crossed home via Payton Landis' (Coatesville, Pa./Coatesville) groundout in the eighth inning. One inning later, Naya Rivera (Mays Landing, N.J./Oakcrest) sent a two-out double down the right field line, allowing Karly Rees (Oxford, Pa./Oxford) to tie the count at 4-4.

The Lions trailed 5-4 entering the bottom of the 10th inning, but quickly tied the game as Mushinski legged out an infield single and Ferry came around to score from second base. Three batters later, Reagan delivered the game-winning base hit.

Brandywine collected eight hits off of Schuylkill hurler Emma Crisswell, who went all 9.2 innings and threw 152 pitches, including a pair from Cassario. Cassario also earned the win in the circle, tossing the final four innings in relief of April Lewandowski (Atco, N.J./Hammonton). Cassario yielded two hits and three unearned runs and struck out one, while Lewandowski fanned one and allowed two runs on seven hits during the first six innings.

Brandywine (32-8) will face second-seeded Penn State Mont Alto in the three-game PSUAC Championship series, which begins Sunday, May 5 at 4:00 PM in State College, Pa.