ALTOONA, Pa. – The Penn State Altoona baseball team returned home on Tuesday afternoon and recorded its first doubleheader sweep of the season, as the Lions won both ends of a twinbill with non-conference opponent Waynesburg University at Stewart Athletic Field.

Penn State Altoona (7-8) was led by a pair of strong pitching starts, as the Lions defeated Waynesburg (10-10) by scores of 4-2 and 8-5.

Game One: Penn State Altoona 4, Waynesburg 2

The Lions got strong pitching throughout the first game of the doubleheader and used a four-run third inning to defeat Waynesburg by two.

Eric Seick (Mount Laurel, NJ/Camden Catholic) earned his second win of the season on the pitching mound. In six innings, the right-hander limited Waynesburg to one earned run while scattering six hits, issuing no walks, and striking out a pair of batters. Corey Chamberlain (Claysburg, PA/Claysburg-Kimmel) pitched a scoreless ninth inning to record his fourth save of the season.

Jimmy Mento (Corapeake, NC/Gates County) hit his third home run of the season, a three-run shot in the third to give Penn State Altoona its first lead of the game. Jake Hillard (State College, PA/State College) went 2-for-3 with a run, a walk, and a stolen base.

Waynesburg drew first blood in the top of the third inning, when Seth Burgdolt's RBI double down the left-field line put the Yellow Jackets on the board.

Penn State Altoona answered in a big way, getting four runs across in the bottom of the third to surge ahead. Hillard led off with an infield single to second, and he later scored on Chamberlain's RBI single to right field. After a Zach Ingold (Pittsburgh, PA/Baldwin) walk put two runners aboard, Mento's three-run homer to right-center field put the Lions up, 4-1.

Waynesburg trimmed its deficit to two in the top of the fifth, when Alex Ashbery scored from third after a throwing error. But Penn State Altoona shut the door on any further damage, and the Lions finished game one with a two-run victory.

Game Two: Penn State Altoona 8, Waynesburg 5

The Lions carried their pitching success over into the second game, where Penn State Altoona got another good start on the mound. The home team grabbed an early lead and held on to clinch the sweep over the Yellow Jackets.

Tristin Lockett (Lewistown, PA/Mifflin County) picked up his second victory of the spring on the mound, tossing six scoreless innings while holding the visitors to just two hits and two walks and recording three strikeouts. Caiden Bonsell (Tyrone, PA/Tyrone) pitched 2/3 inning in relief, and Chamberlain recorded the game's final out with a strikeout to secure his fifth save of the year.

Hillard had another two-hit performance at the plate, going 2-for-4 with a stolen base. Fred Guarino IV (Waynesboro, PA/Waynesboro) hit his first home run of the season and finished with three runs scored and a stolen base.

Penn State Altoona scored first, plating three runs in the bottom of the second. Brian Chelli (West Hartford, CT/Hall) started the inning with a walk, stole second base, and scored on a throwing error to give the Lions the game's first run. One batter later, Dominic McCaffrey (Spotswood, NJ/St. John Vianney) singled to left, and Guarino took advantage of an error by the left fielder during the play to score from second. McCaffrey later scored on a passed ball to make it 3-0.

Guarino increased Penn State Altoona's lead to four with one swing of the bat in the third inning, when he crushed a line-drive, solo home run over the left field fence to give the Lions a 4-0 advantage.

Penn State Altoona capitalized on a three-error inning by Waynesburg in the fifth to add two more runs to its total. With two outs, Guarino reached on an infield error and Michael Labisi (Mountainside, NJ/Governor Livingston) walked to put two runners aboard. A dropped fly ball in the next at-bat allowed Guarino to score, and an errant pickoff throw let Labisi come home to make it 6-0.

The Lions tacked on two more runs in the sixth. Tyreke Green (Altoona, PA/Altoona) reached on a one-out infield hit to third, and after a groundout, he scored on Chamberlain's RBI single through the right side. Chelli followed with a run-scoring base hit to right, extending Penn State Altoona's advantage to 8-0.

Waynesburg spoiled the Lions' shutout bid in the top of the seventh, when the Yellow Jackets awoke to score five runs and bring the potential tying run into the on-deck circle. But Penn State Altoona got out of the inning, and the Lions iced the doubleheader sweep.

Penn State Altoona baseball starts its Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference schedule this Saturday, March 30, when the Lions will host first-year league opponent Wells College for a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m.