ASTON, Pa. -- Five Penn State Brandywine pitchers combined to record 22 strikeouts and allow just two hits during a softball sweep of Central Maine on Tuesday afternoon. The Lions topped the Mustangs 5-0 in the opener and a trio of hurlers recorded the 12th no-hitter in team history during a 12-0 triumph in the nightcap.
Game One: Penn State Brandywine 5, Central Maine 0
Two Brandywine pitchers amassed 14 strikeouts and a two-hit shutout as the Lions registered a 5-0 victory in the opener.
April Lewandowski (Atco, N.J./Hammonton) worked the first six innings, allowing just two singles, to up her record to 4-1. Lewandowski record her first six outs via strikeout and fanned a career-high 11 batters overall. Maddie DeFazio (Fairless Hills, Pa./Pennsbury) struck out the side during the top of the seventh inning to close out the victory.
Brandywine struck for its first run during the second frame as Anna Caporale (Westampton, N.J./Rancocas Valley Regional) doubled in Sarah Moore (New Holland, Pa./Pequea Valley).
Kaylee Mushinski's (Allentown, N.J./Allentown) two-base hit scored Lexi Bussenger (Bangor, Pa./Bangor) and Jess James (Yardley, Pa./Pennsbury) one inning later. The Lions made the count 4-0 when Emily Reagan (Harrisburg, Pa./Bishop McDevitt) used a double to push Payton Landis (Coatesville, Pa./Coatesville) across the plate, while Sam Gonchar (Brick Township, N.J./Monroe Township) singled and scored on a wild pitch to cap the scoring in the sixth.
Five players recorded a hit for the Lions. Bussenger singled and walked three times in four plate appearances, while stealing four bases.
Game Two: Penn State Brandywine 12, Central Maine 0
Three Brandywine pitchers held the Mustangs without a hit over five innings in game two for the 12th no-hitter in program history in a 12-0 triumph.
Crystal Cassario (Levittown, Pa./Pennsbury) registered five strikeouts during the first three innings to claim her second victory of the spring. Isabella Hurta (Colts Neck, N.J./Red Bank Catholic) retired the side in order on eight pitches in the fourth, while Jackie Capers (Enola, Pa./East Pennsboro) fanned a pair of Mustangs to close out the game in the fifth inning.
Brandywine got all of the offense it would need during an eight-run first inning that saw the Lions bring 13 batters to the plate. Highlighting the frame were run-scoring doubles from Cassario and Landis and Meghan Ferry's (Gloucester City, N.J./Gloucester City) RBI single.
Becky Valente (Royersford, Pa./Spring-Ford) drove in Cassario with a base hit in the second, while Gonchar's two-run double capped the scoring in the two frames later.
Bussenger added two more hits in game two and has now hit safely in all 10 games this spring. She has a hit in 23 of her last 24 games dating back to 2023.
Valente also tallied a two-hit effort, while Cassario, James and Reagan all scored two runs.
Brandywine (7-3) has 10 days off before opening conference play at Maple Zone against Penn State Scranton on March 22 at 3:00 PM.
