ALTOONA, Pa. – The Penn State Altoona baseball team ended its 2024 regular season schedule at home on Sunday afternoon, when the Lions hosted first-year Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference opponent Wells College for a doubleheader at Stewart Athletic Field.

Penn State Altoona (17-18, 8-8 AMCC) came back from a five-run deficit in game one to win it 7-6, but Wells (18-16, 5-9 AMCC) got the best of the Lions in game two, as the Express prevailed 8-4.

Prior to the start of game one, Penn State Altoona recognized four of its student-athletes for its Senior Day ceremony: outfielder Grayson McClain (Mount Union, PA/Mount Union) and pitchers Cole Brechbill (Hagerstown, MD/North Hagerstown), Tristin Lockett (Lewistown, PA/Mifflin County), and Cameron Dubbs (Palmyra, PA/Palmyra).

Game One: Penn State Altoona 7, Wells 6

Wells put four runs on the board in the top of the first inning, and the Express worked their way out to a 6-1 advantage through three innings. But Penn State Altoona chipped away at its deficit, scoring two runs in each of the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings to take its first lead of the game and win by one.

Corey Chamberlain (Claysburg, PA/Claysburg-Kimmel) went 3-for-4 at the plate – including the go-ahead two-run single in the sixth – with a double, two runs batted in, and two runs scored. Jonathan Rauch (Pittsburgh, PA/Baldwin) was 2-for-3 with his fourth home run of the season, two RBI, and two runs scored.

Aidan Donovan (Staten Island, NY/St. Peter's) went 1-for-2 with two RBI and a walk, and McClain was 1-for-3 with an RBI and a walk. Jake Hillard (State College, PA/State College) had two runs scored and a walk, and Alex Hlivia (Pennsylvania Furnace, PA/State College) finished with a run scored, a walk, and a stolen base.

Lockett started on the mound and finished with a no decision, after going 2 2/3 innings and striking out four batters along the way. Michael Labisi (Mountainside, NJ/Governor Livingston) followed with a strong relief appearance and ultimately secured his second win of the season, pitching 3 1/3 scoreless frames, recording four strikeouts, and allowing only two hits. Chamberlain tossed a scoreless seventh inning and struck out two batters to notch his eighth save of the spring.

Wells struck for four runs in the top of the first inning to grab an early lead. Jacobi James' two-run single up the middle drew first blood, and he later scored on a wild pitch. Aaron Izquierdo came home on a balk later in the inning, as the Express established a 4-0 advantage.

The visitors increased their lead to 5-0 in the second, when James' two-out RBI double to left made it 5-0.

Penn State Altoona got on the board in the home half of the second inning. With Chamberlain at third base after reaching on a double earlier in the inning, Donovan's sharply hit infield single to third allowed Chamberlain to score, making it 5-1.

Wells loaded the bases with two outs in the top of the third, and the Express got one run across on Zach Odum's walk. But the Lions got the final out of the inning, leaving three base runners aboard to end the threat.

Penn State Altoona scored two runs in the fourth to lower its deficit to three. The Lions' first three batters reached safely, as Rauch got on via an error, Chamberlain singled to third, and Zach Ingold (Pittsburgh, PA/Baldwin) was hit by a pitch. One batter later, Donovan drew a bases-loaded walk to score Rauch, and McClain's RBI single up the middle cut the Wells lead to 6-3.

The Lions made it a one-run game in the fifth, when Hillard reached on a leadoff error and Rauch followed with a two-run homer to right, trimming the Express advantage to 6-5.

Penn State Altoona completed its comeback in the bottom of the sixth, when Chamberlain's two-out, two-run single to center gave the Lions their first lead of the day, 7-6. Chamberlain and the Lions retired Wells in order in the seventh, and Penn State Altoona prevailed by one in game one.

Game Two: Wells 8, Penn State Altoona 4

Wells again built a strong lead early in the game, but this time, the Lions were unable to dig themselves out of the hole. The Express led 7-0 through three-and-a-half innings, and while Penn State Altoona did not go quietly late in the game, the visitors salvaged a split with a four-run win.

Ingold had three of Penn State Altoona's seven hits, going 3-for-5 with a double and an RBI. Hillard finished with a hit, a run scored, an RBI, and a walk.

James St. Laurent-Friend (Wake Forest, NC/Wake Forest) had a pinch-hit double and a scored a run, while Labisi had a pinch-hit RBI single. Chamberlain also finished with one hit for Penn State Altoona.

Tyreke Green (Altoona, PA/Altoona) recorded an RBI, a walk, a run, and a stolen base, and Brian Chelli (West Hartford, CT/Hall) drew a walk and scored a run.

Eric Seick (Mount Laurel, NJ/Camden Catholic) got the nod at pitcher and ultimately suffered the loss, going three innings, allowing four earned runs, and striking out three batters. Dubbs tossed one inning out of the bullpen, and Sean Wing (Staten Island, NY/St. Peter's) pitched five solid innings in relief, allowing one run while registering seven strikeouts.

Wells again scored first, getting a James RBI single up the middle in the bottom of the first inning. James Camacho doubled the Express run total in the second, as his RBI double to left center made it 2-0.

The visitors added three more runs to their total in the third on back-to-back homers. After a leadoff single, Max Odum hit a two-run home run to left, and James followed with a solo shot to left to increase the Wells lead to 5-0.

In the top of the fourth, Chris McLean's RBI double and Odum's sac fly extended the Express advantage to 7-0.

Penn State Altoona got on the board in the bottom of the fourth. Hillard led off the frame with a base hit to center and later moved up to third on a Wells outfield throwing error. Ingold's RBI single to second base scored Hillard, making it 7-1.

Wells eventually got that run back in the top of the ninth, when Cam Hayman's sac fly scored Odum to put the Express lead back at seven runs, 8-1.

Penn State Altoona made some noise in the bottom of the ninth but came up short. St. Laurent-Friend led off the inning with a double to left center, followed by a Chelli walk and Fred Guarino IV (Waynesboro, PA/Waynesboro) getting hit by a pitch to load the bases. One batter later, Green hit into a fielder's choice, which allowed St. Laurent-Friend to come home from third. Hillard came next, and his fielder's choice let Chelli score to make it 8-3. After Rauch walked to load the bases again, Labisi delivered an RBI single to center, trimming the Wells lead to 8-4 and bringing the tying run to the plate. But the Lions' rally was halted, and the Express escaped with the victory.

Now, Penn State Altoona baseball will enter the AMCC Tournament in hopes of defending its conference title. The Lions have the No. 5 seed in the tournament and will travel to play No. 4 seed Alfred State College in a best-of-three series starting on Saturday, May 4, at 1 p.m.