Mushinski, Caserta Land Top Honors; Seven Receive All-PSUAC Softball Awards
MEDIA, Pa. -- Sophomore Kaylee Mushinski (Allentown, N.J./Allentown) repeated as Penn State University Athletic Conference Player of the Year, while Penn State Brandywine Head Coach Mark Caserta was named conference Coach of the Year as the PSUAC released its end-of-year softball awards on Friday.
Mushinski was one of seven Lions to earn all-conference awards, joining Lexi Bussenger (Bangor, Pa./Bangor) and April Lewandowski (Atco, N.J./Hammonton) on the first team. Crystal Cassario (Levittown, Pa./Pennsbury), Meghan Ferry (Gloucester City, N.J./Gloucester City) and Payton Landis (Coatesville, Pa./Coatesville) all received second team accolades, while Karly Rees (Oxford, Pa./Oxford) was a honorable mention selection.
Mushinski earned her second-straight PSUAC Player of the Year award after topping all conference players with eight home runs and 65 runs batted in. She is batting .425 with 54 hits, including a conference-high 28 extra-base hits. Mushinski also stands third in the league with 42 runs scored in 38 games this spring.
Against PSUAC competition, Mushinski excelled, collecting seven home runs and 39 RBI in 17 league games. She batted .582 versus PSUAC foes, hitting safely in 14 games, including 11 contests of two-plus hits. She produced six-RBI performances on back-to-back days against Penn State Greater Allegheny and Penn State Fayette and tallied four-hit efforts against Fayette and Penn State Scranton.
During her two-year, 80-game career, Mushinski has produced 114 hits, 125 RBI and 81 runs scored.
Now in his 11th year as head coach at Brandywine, Caserta earned the third PSUAC Coach of the Year selection of his career. Caserta led the Lions to their third consecutive 30-win season, while claiming the league's regular-season title for the third-straight year. He owns a 264-133-1 career record, including a 141-26 mark against PSUAC competition, and is looking to lead Brandywine to a ninth-straight conference championship this weekend in State College.
Bussenger, the only Lion to play in all 40 games, broke Mushinski's single-season hit record (60 in 2023) by tallying 70 hits en route to earning her second-straight first team selection. She has hit safely in all 40 games this spring, blowing past the team's previous record-long hitting streak of 18-straight games, and is the only player in the PSUAC to hold a batting average over .500 at .507. She hit .556 and collected 15 of her 18 RBI against PSUAC opponents.
Bussenger has tallied two-plus hits 22 times, while scoring a PSUAC-high 60 runs. Bussenger also tops the conference in stolen bases with 61, nearly 40 more than her closest competitor. She has swiped a base in 32 games this spring, stealing as many as four in a game on two occasions, while being thrown out just twice overall.
Lewandowski ranks in the top three among PSUAC hurlers in nearly every statistical category. Her 13 victories and 1.56 earned run average are tied for second in the league, while her 78 strikeouts are good for third. Lewandowski made 17 starts in the circle, firing six complete games, including five shutouts, all of which came against PSUAC competition.
Lewandowski was dominant against conference foes, posting a 7-0 record in seven starts, while allowing just one earned run in 41.0 innings for a 0.17 ERA. She struck out 37 batters, walked just four and yielded only 22 hits.
Cassario was once again one of the top two-way players in the league, earning her third-straight all-conference accolade. In the circle, she posted a 12-4 record, including a pair of PSUAC Tournament wins, and ranked fourth in the PSUAC with a 1.93 ERA. Cassario fanned 69 batters in 101.1 innings, while spinning 13 complete games in 16 starts. She went 5-0 in five conference starts, posting a 0.85 ERA and 28 strikeouts.
At the plate, Cassario hit .373 in 59 at-bats, collecting 22 RBI, 14 runs scored and six extra-base hits. She has hit safely in six-straight games entering the PSUAC Championship series.
Ferry earned all-conference laurels for the third time during her four-year career. During 38 games this spring, she has registered 33 hits, 41 runs scored, fifth most in the PSUAC, and 32 RBI. Ferry topped all PSUAC hitters with seven triples and totaled 17 extra-base hits overall, ranking seventh in the league. She added to her program-record home run total with four long balls, all of which came against PSUAC pitching, and stole 15 bases in as many attempts.
Landis rounded out her career with her fourth consecutive All-PSUAC selection. She made 38 starts at first base this spring, tallying 44 hits, 36 RBI and 26 runs scored. A .386 batter, Landis is tied for seventh in the league in RBI, while tying for 12th in hits. Her 16 extra-base hits are tied for the ninth-highest total. Landis was a .462 hitter in conference games with 24 RBI. She struck out just three times in 52 at-bats.
Rees is now a three-time all-league catcher. She is one of seven players in the conference with 50 hits after batting .435. Twenty-one of her 50 knocks went for extra bases, placing her fifth in the PSUAC. In 37 games, Rees also tallied 32 RBI, tying with Ferry for 12th in the conference, along with 34 runs scored. She did most of her damage at the plate against PSUAC pitching, amassing a .625 batting average with three home runs and 22 RBI in 17 conference games.
In addition, Becky Valente (Royersford, Pa./Spring-Ford) received the John Fritz Sportsmanship Award. Named after former PSUAC Commissioner John Fritz, the sportsmanship award is given to one player from each team in the league who best displays the core values of the league and sportsmanship to teammates and opponents throughout the season. Valente hit .364 with 18 runs scored and 11 RBI during 28 games this season.
