HORSEHEADS, N.Y. – The Penn State Altoona baseball team split an uneven doubleheader on Thursday afternoon at the Holding Point Recreation Center, as the Lions traveled to face non-conference opponent Elmira College.

Elmira (6-11) won by a lopsided score of 19-5 in game one, before Penn State Altoona (7-11) answered with a 19-9 victory in game two.

Game One: Elmira 19, Penn State Altoona 5

The Lions were limited to just three hits, while Elmira cranked out 18 hits and 19 runs.

Bryce Smith (Elliottsburg, PA/West Perry) had a pinch-hit triple and scored a run. Benjamin Ettien (Media, PA/Pennscrest) was 1-for-3 with an RBI, and Tyreke Green (Altoona, PA/Altoona) also had a hit. Dominic McCaffrey (Spotswood, NJ/St. John Vianney) had an RBI on a sacrifice fly.

Jimmy Mento (Gates County, NC/Gates County) started on the mound and suffered the loss after pitching one inning. Cole Suba (Pittsburgh, PA/North Allegheny) tossed the next four innings out of the bullpen and struck out five batters, and Brycen Flinton (Denver, PA/Cocalico) pitched the following inning and struck out a pair.

Elmira took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first when Brett Warden scored from third base during a rundown.

The home team exploded for seven runs in the second, getting an RBI single from Matteo Salvati and a two-run single from Gabe Fellows to start the scoring. Bryan Jimenez was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to bring in another run, and Warden's two RBI single added two more to the Soaring Eagles' total. Elmira made it 8-0 after Nick Lees' RBI groundout.

Kaden Bolt hit a two-run homer in the third to increase Elmira's advantage to 10-0.

Penn State Altoona finally got on the board in the top of the fifth, when Ettien's RBI single brought home Hlivia.

But Elmira struck back in the bottom of the fifth on a two-run single from Warden and an RBI single by Connor Stone.

In the top of the sixth, Penn State Altoona got two more runs on a McCaffrey sacrifice fly and an error that allowed Tyler Gordon (Pottstown, PA/Owen J. Roberts) to score from third.

Elmira padded its lead with six more in the bottom of the sixth, and after Smith scored on an error in the top of the seventh, the Lions suffered a 19-5 loss.

Game Two: Penn State Altoona 19, Elmira 9

After losing by 14 in game one, the Lions responded with a 10-run victory in the nightcap.

Green was 3-for-4 with a home run, a double, four RBI, three runs scored, and a walk. Zach Ingold (Pittsburgh, PA/Baldwin) went 2-for-3 with a triple, four runs scored, three RBI, a double, and a walk. Fred Guarino IV (Waynesboro, PA/Waynesboro) was 2-for-5 with a home run, three RBI, and two runs scored.

Alex Hlivia (Pennsylvania Furnace, PA/State College) hit 2-for-5 with a double, two RBI, and a run scored, and Jake Hillard (State College, PA/State College) went 2-for-3 with two runs scored. Brian Chelli (West Hartford, CT/Hall) had three stolen bases to go along with two runs scored, a hit, an RBI, and a walk.

Kyle Latham (Milton, GA/Cambridge) started on the mound and went 3 1/3 innings in a no decision. Carter Piercey (West Chester, PA/Bayard Rustin) pitched 1 2/3 in relief and notched his first collegiate win, and Hlivia pitched a scoreless final two frames with three strikeouts to finish the game.

The Lions made it 1-0 in the top of the first, after Hlivia doubled with one out and later scored on Chamberlain's RBI double.

Penn State Altoona boosted its lead to 6-0 in the top of the second. Hillard led off with a single, then scored on Ingold's triple to right center. Later, Green's two-run double made it 4-0, and a Chelli RBI hit gave the Lions a five-run advantage. Chelli scored on a balk later in the frame, and Penn State Altoona took a 6-0 lead out of the inning.

Elmira closed the gap to two in the bottom of the second. Ryan Trenholm's two-run single got the Soaring Eagles on the board, and Kaden Bolt's fielder's choice drew in a run in the next at-bat. An infield error later allowed Bolt to score, making it 6-4.

Penn State Altoona got three runs back in the visitor half of the third, thanks to a pair of home runs. After an Ingold walk started the inning, Guarino hit his third homer of the year to make it 8-4. One batter later, Green's solo home run, his first of the season, increased the Lions' advantage to 9-4.

The Lions proceeded to add to their lead in the fourth. After walks by Chamberlain and Joe O'Connor (West Grove, PA/Avon Grove), Ingold drove both in with a double to center. Two batters later, Ingold scored on a throwing error to make it 12-4.

Elmira got four in the bottom of the fourth to make it a four-run game, but Penn State Altoona broke the game open with a big top of the fifth. Chelli reached leading off after being hit by a pitch, and he later scored on an error. Guarino reached on an error to bring O'Connor home, before back-to-back RBI hits from Michael Labisi (Mountainside, NJ/Governor Livingston) and Green tacked two more runs on to the Lions' total. An error allowed Guarino to score during Green's single, and Hlivia added a two-run base hit to make it 19-8.

Warden was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded for the final run of the game, making it 19-9 in the bottom of the fifth.

Penn State Altoona baseball gets right back at it tomorrow, Friday, March 28, when the Lions will travel to Chambersburg, Pa., to take on non-conference opponent Wilson College in a doubleheader. Game one is slated to begin at 1 p.m.