FAN INFORMATION
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The 2024 PSUAC Softball Championship series will feature two perennial contenders, including eight-time defending champions and top seed Penn State Brandywine. They'll face the two-seed, Penn State Mont Alto, in a best-of-3 series at Beard Field at Nittany Lion Softball Park in University Park beginning on Sunday afternoon.
The series kicks off at 4 p.m. on Sunday as Brandywine will be the home team in the opener. Game 2 is scheduled for 10 a.m. on Monday morning with Mont Alto as the home team, and the if necessary game will be played immediately after with Brandywine as the home team.
Let's take a look at the match-up.
HOW THEY GOT HERE
Brandywine finished the conference regular season 17-1, with its only blemish coming to Penn State DuBois. Overall, Brandywine is 32-8 entering the PSUAC Championship series as they look to become nine-time champions. In pod 1 of the PSUAC Softball Playoffs, Brandywine beat Penn State Schuylkill 3-0 during the double-elimination portion of the tournament. After Schuylkill eliminated Penn State Beaver in the pod, Brandywine needed 10 innings to knock out their rivals 6-5 in a thriller. The win gave Schuylkill its second loss and advanced Brandywine to the Championship series.
Mont Alto also swept an opponent in pod 2, and needed extras to do it as well. Finishing the season 15-3 in the PSUAC and 26-6 overall, Mont Alto fended off 2023 runners-up Penn State New Kensington 4-3 in nine innings in their first match-up. New Kensington had handed Mont Alto one of its losses during the regular season, and after beating Penn State Hazleton for a second time was in line to face the hosts again. This time, Mont Alto's bats caught fire and pushed across 11 runs in an 8-run rule game to push them to the Championship series.
WHO GOT THEM HERE
It's tough to single out any one or two players for these teams. Brandywine's veteran group of players, including 13 who returned from last year's USCAA Small College World Series champion, has consistently won in the big moments, especially in the PSUAC tournament. But they certainly have standouts.
The top seed has two pitchers who can claim previous All-Conference status in Crystal Cassario and April Lewandowski. Lewandowski finished the season second in the PSUAC in wins (13) and ERA (1.56), with Cassario not far behind with 12 wins and a sub-2.00 ERA.
Their core group of hitters include 2023 PSUAC Player of the Year Kaylee Mushinski who hit eight homers and drove in 65 to lead the PSUAC. Teammate Lexi Bussenger batted .504 and is a complete menace on the base paths, swiping 61 bags this year, nearly 40 more than her next closest competitor. They're joined in the lineup by five other teammates who have collected 100 hits over their careers including Cassario, Payton Landis and Karly Rees. Not to mention 2023 USCAA Small College World Series MVP Meghan Ferry, who has long come up big in her team's biggest moments.
Mont Alto also offers a veteran team that has seen success over the past several years. In the circle, Delaney Glazer will be responsible for shutting down the Brandywine offense. Glazer tied Lewandowski in wins (13), was third in ERA (1.58) and second in strikeouts with 124.
Glazer's supporting cast with the bats have plenty of firepower to offer as well. Destiny Hall smacked six home runs on the season, and Kirsten Dell finished in the top five in batting average at .486 and teammate Paige Loudenslager hit .470. Rachel Alleman finished second in the conference with 22 stolen bases, while batting .467 to put runners on for players like Dell, Hall and McKenna Sas to drive in. Those players finished with 38, 36 and 28 RBI, respectively.
RECENT HISTORY AND WHAT'S NEXT
Penn State Brandywine swept the regular season series in late March, winning 7-1 and 8-2. The teams' most recent meeting in the PSUAC Championship game came back in 2021, with Brandywine emerging victorious.
The winner of the PSUAC Championship will earn the conference's automatic bid into the USCAA Small College World Series, slated for the week of May 12th in DuBois, Pa. The loser of the series will await their fate and hope for an at-large berth.
HOW TO FOLLOW
Fans can watch the PSUAC Championship series live or on demand on the PSU Campus Athletics Network or follow the live stats feed on the PSUAC schedule page. Live play-by-play will be provided on the live stream.
Fans joining us at University Park can click on the Fan Information page linked at the top of this story to access all of the information they'll need. Admission, live stats and the live stream are all free to enjoy.
