ALTOONA, Pa. – On Tuesday afternoon, the Penn State Altoona baseball team returned home for the first time since March 26, as the Lions faced Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference opponent La Roche University for a doubleheader at Stewart Athletic Field.

The Lions (8-11, 1-3 AMCC) pulled out a 2-1, walkoff win in game one, but La Roche (8-12, 4-2 AMCC) was able to hang on for a 7-6 victory in the nightcap.

Game One: Penn State Altoona 2, La Roche 1

Penn State Altoona managed a walkoff win to cap a tightly contested game one. After five scoreless innings, each team picked up a run in the sixth to keep the score tied going into the seventh. But the Lions were able to grind out a run in the bottom of the seventh to win the contest.

Eric Seick (Mount Laurel, NJ/Camden Catholic) started on the mound and pitched a complete game to secure the victory, improving his record to 3-0 this season. In six innings, Seick allowed just one run on eight hits and no walks while striking out eight batters.

Jake Hillard (State College, PA/State College) was a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate with a run scored. Aidan Donovan (Staten Island, NY/St. Peter's), Zach Ingold (Pittsburgh, PA/Baldwin), Grayson McClain (Mount Union, PA/Mount Union), and Jimmy Mento (Corapeake, NC/Gates County) also had one hit apiece for the Lions.

La Roche broke a scoreless tie in the top of the sixth, when Casey Jones' sacrifice fly to left put the Redhawks on the board. Penn State Altoona answered in the bottom half of the inning to re-tie the score, as Mento singled, stole second, and eventually scored on McClain's two-out RBI single to right.

Penn State Altoona kept the Redhawks off the scoreboard in the top of the seventh, then made its move in the bottom half of the inning to claim victory. Hillard led off with a base hit, and Tyreke Green (Altoona, PA/Altoona) followed with a walk to put two runners aboard. One batter later, Corey Chamberlain (Claysburg, PA/Claysburg-Kimmel) grounded into a fielder's choice, and Hillard scored on a throwing error during the play to give the Lions a walkoff win.

Game Two: La Roche 7, Penn State Altoona 6

The Lions staked out an early lead when they scored three runs in the bottom of the first. But Penn State Altoona's lead slipped away over the next several innings, as the Redhawks built a 7-3 advantage through four and a half. The Lions closed the gap to one late, but the home team was unable to come up with the tying run, and La Roche escaped with a close win.

Green went 3-for-5 at the plate for Penn State Altoona with a double, an RBI, and a run scored. McClain hit 2-for-3 with an RBI, a run scored, and a walk, and Chamberlain finished 2-for-5 with two runs scored and an RBI.

Tristin Lockett (Lewistown, PA/Mifflin County) got the start on the hill and took the loss, going 4 1/3 innings while striking out five batters. Sean Wing (Staten Island, NY/St. Peter's) followed with 4 2/3 scoreless innings out of the bullpen, allowing only three hits and a walk while recording four strikeouts.

Penn State Altoona got three runs across in the bottom of the first. Hillard and Green started the frame with back-to-back singles, and one batter later, Chamberlain's RBI single to right put the Lions on the board. A pair of wild pitches allowed Green to score, and Alex Hlivia (Pennsylvania Furnace, PA/State College) delivered a sacrifice fly to center that brought home Chamberlain, making it 3-0.

La Roche scored its first run in the top of the second, when Josh Dreyer's solo home run over the right-field fence made it 3-1. The Redhawks continued to chip away at their deficit in the third, when Dimitri Gary's sac fly to center cut Penn State Altoona's advantage to 3-2.

The visitors jumped ahead with four runs in the top of the fourth. Run-scoring doubles from Caden Maffitt and Dom Brncic put La Roche ahead, and Samuel DiCicco's two-run single to right put the Redhawks in front by three, 6-3. A sac fly from Ricky Heyz in the top of the fifth upped La Roche's lead to four, 7-3.

Penn State Altoona got a run back in the bottom of the fifth. McClain reached on a one-out infield single to shortstop, and after moving up to second on a groundout, he scored on Green's two-out double down the right-field line.

La Roche continued to nurse its 7-4 advantage, but the Lions narrowed the difference to one in the bottom of the eighth. Chamberlain led off with a base hit, and two-out walks drawn by Mento and Dominic McCaffrey (Spotswood, NJ/St. John Vianney) loaded the bases later in the inning. Penn State Altoona used two more free passes, drawn by McClain and Hillard, to bring in a pair of runs and cut the La Roche lead to 7-6. But the Redhawks escaped the inning without giving up any further damage, forcing Penn State Altoona to strand three runners.

The Lions put the potential tying run in scoring position in the bottom of the ninth, when Ingold led off with a single to right and moved up to second base on an errant pickoff throw. But La Roche worked its way out of the inning, finishing with a one-run win.

Penn State Altoona baseball returns to action tomorrow, Wednesday, April 10, when the Lions will dip back into non-conference play. The team will travel to Williamsport, Pa. to take on Penn College in a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. at Bowman Field.