GROTTOES, Va. – The Penn State Altoona baseball team got its 2024 season off to a start Sunday, when the Lions traveled south to face non-conference opponent Mary Baldwin University in a doubleheader at Shifflett Field.

Mary Baldwin (2-1) grabbed an early lead in game one, en route to an 8-1 victory. Penn State Altoona (1-1) bounced back in a big way in game two, staking out an early lead of its own and going on to win 26-5.

Game One: Mary Baldwin 8, Penn State Altoona 1

Penn State Altoona dug itself an early hole in game one of the doubleheader, surrendering seven runs in the first inning and going on to lose by seven.

Brian Chelli (West Hartford, CT/Hall) and Grayson McClain (Mount Union, PA/Mount Union) led the Lions' efforts at the plate, with each hitter going 2-for-3 and Chelli driving in his team's lone run. Corey Chamberlain (Claysburg, PA/Claysburg-Kimmel) was 1-for-3 with a double and a run scored, and Zach Ingold (Pittsburgh, PA/Baldwin) was also 1-for-3.

On the mound, Tristin Lockett (Lewistown, PA/Mifflin County) got the start for Penn State Altoona and was saddled with the loss. Sean Wing (Staten Island, NY/St. Peter's) tossed three innings in relief, while Eli Wiles (Kittanning, PA/Armstrong) also pitched three innings out of the bullpen, and neither pitcher allowed an earned run.

Mary Baldwin opened the scoring in the bottom of the first inning. Josh Lallo and Tyler Morley each drew a bases-loaded walk, and JT Stevenson plated a run with his run-scoring groundout to second. Gavin Rush drove in the Fighting Squirrels' fourth run with an RBI single, and an error on the play allowed another run to come home. Another Lions error in the next at-bat let two more runs score, and Mary Baldwin took a 7-0 lead into the second.

The Squirrels made it 8-0 in the fifth, when Lallo's sacrifice fly to center extended the home team's lead.

Penn State Altoona got on the board in the top of the sixth, getting a run across with two outs. With two away, Chamberlain reached on an infield error, and Ingold followed with a base hit to put two runners aboard. In the next at-bat, Chelli's RBI single brought Chamberlain home to make it 8-1.

But Mary Baldwin held the Lions off of the scoreboard the rest of the way, and the Squirrels finished with a seven-run victory in game one.

Game Two: Penn State Altoona 26, Mary Baldwin 5

Penn State Altoona's bats exploded in game two, putting 26 runs on the board on 20 hits. The Lions' total of 26 runs is the fourth-most in program history.

Three different Lion batters had a four-hit game, as Jimmy Mento (Corapeake, NC/Gates County) and Jonathan Rauch (Pittsburgh, PA/Baldwin) were both 4-for-4 and Alex Hlivia (Pennsylvania Furnace, PA/State College) was 4-for-5. Mento had four RBI, three runs scored, a walk and a stolen base, Rauch finished with five RBI, four runs scored, two doubles, and a walk, and Hlivia recorded three RBI, two runs scored, and a stolen base.

Meanwhile, Jake Hillard (State College, PA/State College) went 3-for-4 with five runs scored, four RBI, a stolen base, and a walk. Hillard's five runs scored tie for the most in a game in team history.

Tyreke Green (Altoona, PA/Altoona) was 2-for-3 with four runs scored, three RBI, a stolen base, and a walk. Fred Guarino IV (Waynesboro, PA/Waynesboro) tallied three RBI and a pair of runs scored.

Sam Homan (Altoona, PA/Bishop Guilfoyle) got the start on the mound for Penn State Altoona and tossed two innings with three strikeouts in a no decision. Eric Seick (Mount Laurel, NJ/Camden Catholic) pitched the next three innings, allowing just one run and striking out four batters while picking up his first collegiate win.

Brycen Flinton (Denver, PA/Cocalico) pitched an inning in relief with two strikeouts, and Caiden Bonsell (Tyrone, PA/Tyrone) threw a scoreless seventh inning.

Penn State Altoona jumped out to a 9-0 lead in the top of the first. Hillard led off with a walk, Green reached on an error after laying down a sacrifice bunt, and Rauch drew a bases on balls to load the bases with no outs. Chamberlain's fielder's choice scored the game's first run, and RBI singles from Guarino, Mento, and Hlivia made it 4-0. Later in the frame, Hillard reached on an infield error, allowing McClain, Hlivia, and Mento to score, before RBI singles from Green and Rauch increased the Lions' run total to nine.

Mary Baldwin got two runs back in the bottom of the first, when an error let Michael Robertson score before Morley's RBI fielder's choice made it 9-2. In the second, Robertson's RBI double provided the Squirrels with their third run of the game.

But Penn State Altoona had another big inning in the top of the third, this time getting 11 runs across. After the frame began with a Hillard single and Green walk, Rauch's double drove both runners home. Two batters later, back-to-back RBI singles from Mento and Hlivia made it 13-3. McClain drew a bases-loaded walk to bring in another run, before Hillard's RBI single and an error on the play increased the Lions' lead to 16-3. Green reached on an infield error in the next play, allowing another run to come home, and Rauch's RBI single in the next at-bat upped his team's advantage to 18-3. One batter later, Guarino's lineout got a run in, and Mento added another RBI base hit to give Penn State Altoona a 20-3 advantage.

An RBI single by Rush in the bottom half of the third accounted for another run for Mary Baldwin, setting the score at 20-4, but Penn State Altoona tacked six more runs on to its total in the top of the fourth. Green's RBI single got the scoring started in the inning, Rauch followed with an RBI double, and an error on the play let another run come home. One batter later, Guarino's sac fly to left preceded RBI hits from Mento and Hlivia that boosted the Lions' lead to 26-4.

The Squirrels added a run in the bottom of the sixth with a Landon Lightner RBI single, putting the score at 26-5.

Next up, Penn State Altoona will travel south for its annual week of competition in the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational, where the team will compete in a total of 10 games from March 2-9. The Lions' week at RussMatt starts on Saturday, March 2, when Penn State Altoona will take on Dominican University (Ill.) in a pair of seven-inning games at Lake Myrtle Park in Auburndale, Fla. Game one first pitch is set for 10 a.m.