READING, Pa. - Day One of the 2025 United East Softball Championship Double Elimination Round was completed on Saturday on the campus of Penn State Berks. Four teams entered the day and three have moved on to compete tomorrow for a chance at the title. No. 2 Penn State Brandywine went a perfect 2-0, earning them a chance to raise the trophy with just one Sunday win. No. 3 Penn State Harrisburg and No. 4 Penn College will need to win three-straight in order to secure the title. Top-seeded Penn State Berks concluded their season with a final record of 25-9.
Sunday will kick off with a battle between Penn State Harrisburg and Penn College with the first pitch scheduled for 10 AM. The winner of that game will take on Brandywine at noon. The “if necessary” game will follow directly after game six.
Find all of the Championship action here: SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP PAGE
No. 4 Penn College def. No. 1 Penn State Berks, 6-3 (BOX SCORE)
A sixth inning home run courtesy of Penn College’s Mackenzie Weaver was the difference maker as the Wildcat upset the tournament’s top seed on their own field. To get there, both sides plated a single run in the first inning. Berks then took a 2-1 lead in the third as Peyton Vivian knocked an RBI single. Penn College answered right back in the fourth with an RBI single from Kunes. Vivian broke the tie once again in the bottom of the frame with another RBI single, but the Wildcats knotted everything at 3-3 as a groundout sent Grace Lorson over the plate. A Weaver three-run blast in the sixth would then conclude the contest’s scoring plays.
Mackenzi Tice picked up her 12th win in the circle this season, allowing just a pair of earned runs while punching out eight.
No. 2 Penn State Brandywine def. No. 3 Penn State Harrisburg, 6-2 (BOX SCORE)
Harrisburg started the scoring in the first frame as Rylee Martinez knocked a single that drove in one run. Brandywine took no time to answer as they piled up four runs in the bottom of the inning. Three stolen bases helped the efforts as Emma McElroy had an RBI single, Ava Craddock an RBI double and Madie Culbertson a two-RBI double. Scoring halted in the second but a leadoff dinger from Kaylee Mushinski increased the Brandywine lead to 5-1 after three. It’d move to 6-1 in the fourth as McElroy picked up her second RBI of the day on a sacrifice fly. Harrisburg was able to put up one run in the final stanza but the comeback chance fell to the wayside.
April Lewandowski had a dominant outing from the circle, striking out nine in a complete game effort.
No. 2 Penn State Brandywine def. No. 4 Penn College, 6-5 (BOX SCORE)
Ava Craddock was the hero for Brandywine as her single drove in the game-winning run in the seventh inning. Tied 5-5 in the bottom of the final frame Emma McElroy got the ball rolling as she hit a lead off single and was moved to second on a sac bunt. Craddock then sent a ball to right field that allowed McElroy to reach home, earning a huge victory for the Nittany Lions.
Brandywine got out to the quick lead as they put up three in the first inning. Penn College got on the board in the second as Lorson scored on a stolen base jam, but Brandywine answered the following inning with a similar second base steal situation. The Wildcats roared back in the sixth though, scoring four and taking their first lead of the day but once again Brandywine answered as they scored on an error in the bottom of the stanza.
Craddock had a superb day as she went 3-for-4 with the walk off RBI. Culbertson had a tremendous outing also as she went 3-for-3 with a triple.
Kylie Ferris notched the win in the circle, tossing the final 2.0 innings. Isabella Hurta went the first 5.0 for Brandywine, striking out three Wildcats.
No. 3 Penn State Harrisburg def. No. 1 Penn State Berks, 9-2 (BOX SCORE)
An error plated the first run of the day as Berks’ Kylie Krauss touched home in the top of the first. Harrisburg retaliated with a four-run second inning, including RBI singles from Carissa Yeager and Madelyn Lehigh, but Berks would cut the lead to two as they scored on another error in the bottom of the inning. That’d be the last scoring for the top seed as Harrisburg went on to add five more runs highlighted by an Aspen Walker solo shot in the third.
Yeager picked up the win on the rubber, scattering just four hits through the first 6.0 innings. Kierstyn Smith came in to clean up the last inning.
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The United East boasts 17 NCAA Division III full member institutions which include: Bryn Athyn College, Cairn University, Cedar Crest College, Gallaudet University, Keystone College, Lancaster Bible College, Notre Dame of Maryland University, Penn College, Penn State Abington, Penn State Berks, Penn State Brandywine, Penn State Harrisburg, Rosemont College, Saint Elizabeth University, St. Mary's College of Maryland, University of Valley Forge, and Wilson College. For more information, please visit gounitedeast.com.