BOLIVAR, N.Y. – The Penn State Altoona baseball team started its 2024 Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference schedule on Sunday afternoon, losing both ends of a doubleheader against Alfred State College at Bolivar-Richburg High School.

Penn State Altoona (7-10, 0-2 AMCC) fell 5-2 in game one, before Alfred State (7-17, 2-2 AMCC) prevailed 8-2 in game two.

Game One: Alfred State 5, Penn State Altoona 2

The Lions scored an early run, but Alfred State quickly took the lead after getting three runs across in the bottom of the first. Penn State Altoona closed the gap to one in the third inning, but the home team never relinquished the lead.

Zach Ingold (Pittsburgh, PA/Baldwin) went 2-for-3 with a double, and Alex Hlivia (Pennsylvania Furnace, PA/State College) was also 2-for-3. Corey Chamberlain (Claysburg, PA/Claysburg-Kimmel) was 1-for-3 with a run batted in, and Tyreke Green (Altoona, PA/Altoona) and Jake Hillard (State College, PA/State College) each doubled for the Lions.

Eli Wiles (Kittanning, PA/Armstrong) pitched a complete game and surrendered just one earned run but suffered the loss. Over six innings, the right-hander struck out six batters.

Penn State Altoona capitalized on a pair of Alfred State errors to score a run in the top of the first inning. With two outs, Jonathan Rauch (Pittsburgh, PA/Baldwin) reached on an infield error, and an outfield error during the next play allowed him to score, giving the Lions a 1-0 lead.

The Pioneers claimed a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the first, thanks to run-scoring singles from Jack Curabba and Connor Kiefer and a bases-loaded walk drawn by Devin Mersmann.

Penn State Altoona got a run back in the top of the third, trimming its deficit to 3-2. Green doubled to right-center field with one out, and Chamberlain's RBI single to left drove him in to make it a one-run difference.

But Alfred State shut the Lions out the rest of the way, while adding a run in the fourth on Anthony Snyder's sacrifice and another in the fifth on Curabba's RBI triple.

Game Two: Alfred State 8, Penn State Altoona 2

Penn State Altoona dug itself into an early hole, as Alfred State scored six runs in the bottom of the second. The Pioneers went on to increase their lead to eight, while holding the Lions scoreless until the ninth inning.

Rauch had a double, while Chamberlain, Hillard, Ingold, Dominic McCaffrey (Spotswood, NJ/St. John Vianney), and Jimmy Mento (Corapeake, NC/Gates County) also had hits for the Lions.

Sam Homan (Altoona, PA/Bishop Guilfoyle) started on the mound and pitched six innings, yielding no earned runs and striking out three while being saddled with the loss. Sean Wing (Staten Island, NY/St. Peter's) tossed an inning out of the bullpen after Homan, and Cole Brechbill (Hagerstown, MD/North Hagerstown) followed by pitching a scoreless eighth.

Alfred State scored the game's first runs courtesy of an infield error in the bottom of the second inning, when two runs came across. Tyler Petery's RBI triple and Elijah Barinas' RBI single came next, and a throwing error on a stolen base allowed Barinas to score later in the frame. Curabba's RBI triple put the Pioneers up 6-0.

Alfred State maintained its six-run lead until the seventh, when Kiefer's two-run single tacked two more runs on to the Pioneers' total, making it 8-0.

Penn State Altoona spoiled the shutout by scoring two in the top of the ninth. Rauch doubled to lead off the inning, and Chamberlain and Ingold followed with base hits to load the bases. Hlivia's sacrifice fly brought home the Lions' first run of the game, and Mento's RBI single into left made it 8-2.

Penn State Altoona baseball returns home for its next games, as the Lions will host AMCC opponent La Roche University this Tuesday, April 9, for a doubleheader at Stewart Athletic Field. Game one starts at 1 p.m.