Mushinski’s Walk-Off Single Sends Brandywine To Second-Straight United East Title

ASTON, Pa. – Kaylee Mushinski (Allentown, N.J./Allentown) delivered a two-out, walk-off single during the final at-bat of her standout, four-year career, lifting No. 1 Penn State Brandywine to its second-straight United East Conference softball championship with a 3-2 victory over No. 3 Penn College on Saturday afternoon.

Mushinski, who capped her freshman year with a walk-off base hit to win the Small College World Series, lined a base hit into the left-center field gap, scoring Valentina Capra (Kenilworth, N.J./David Brearley) with the game-winning run, collecting her team-record 226^th and final RBI of her career.

Capra got the seventh-inning rally started by working a nine-pitch walk. She moved to second via Naya Rivera's (Mays Landing, N.J./Oakcrest) sacrifice bunt and advanced to third thanks to Lexi Bussenger's (Bangor, Pa./Bangor) infield single. Two batters later, Mushinski gave Brandywine its second United East title in as many years and 11^th-straight conference crown overall.

Bussenger singled, stole second and scored on Mushinski's base hit to give Brandywine a 1-0 lead in the first inning.

The Wildcats put six hits on the board during the second and third innings, scoring a single run during each frame to take the lead; however, April Lewandowski (Atco, N.J./Hammonton) set down 12 of the final 15 batters she faced, keeping Penn College off the scoreboard for the final four frames.

Lewandowski won her 16^th-straight start, upping her record on the season to 17-2. Lewandowski, who scattered eight hits and yielded two runs en route to her 16^th complete game of the spring, closed out her four-year career with a record of 62-9, a team record for victories.

The Lions trailed until the fifth inning when Brandywine struck for a two-out run to tie the score. Bussenger got the two-out rally started with a base hit and moved to second base via Penn College error. Emma McElroy (Mountainside, N.J./Governor Livingston) followed with a single, scoring Bussenger to make the count 2-2.

Brandywine collected 10 hits off of Penn College hurler Mackenzi Tice, who threw more than 400 pitches in four complete-game efforts during the two-day tournament.

Bussenger collected the final three hits of her career, upping her total to 243 knocks, a program record. Mushinski added two knocks to her career total, completing her 164-game career with 226 hits. Ava Rodgers (Gloucester City, N.J./Gloucester City) produced a pair of singles, while Bussenger stole two bases.

The game marked the end of four Brandywine seniors' careers: Bussenger, Lewandowski, Mushinski and Rivera. The seniors won the final game of every season during the last four years, capturing four conference titles and two Small College National Championships. Brandywine posted a record of 144-32 during the last four seasons.

The Lions finished the season with a record of 34-7, their fifth-straight season with at least 34 victories. After beginning the 2026 season with six losses during its first 10 games, Brandywine won 30 of its final 31 contests, including 27-straight, a program record, to end the season.