ALTOONA, Pa. – The Penn State Altoona baseball team battled back for a critical Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference win on Wednesday afternoon, when the Lions split a doubleheader with nearby league rival Mount Aloysius College at Stewart Athletic Field.

Both games of the doubleheader went to extra innings, with each team pulling out a win. Mount Aloysius (23-10, 5-5 AMCC) stormed ahead to win game one 5-3 in eight innings, before Penn State Altoona (13-21, 4-8 AMCC) was able to grind out a 9-8 walk-off victory in a 10-inning second game.

With their win, the Lions continued a one-game hold on the sixth and final AMCC playoff spot.

Game One: Mount Aloysius 5, Penn State Altoona 3 (Final/8 innings)

The first contest of the doubleheader remained scoreless through seven innings, and the game proceeded to extras. Mount Aloysius capitalized on a few Lion miscues in the top of the eighth to get five runs across, and despite scoring three in the bottom of the inning, Penn State Altoona suffered the loss.

Jake Hillard (State College, PA/State College) was 2-for-4 with his fourth home run of the season, two RBI, and a run scored, while Corey Chamberlain (Claysburg, PA/Claysburg-Kimmel) was 1-for-3 with his third homer of the season, one RBI, and one run.

Brian Chelli (West Hartford, CT/Hall), Benjamin Ettien (Media, PA/Penncrest), and Joe O'Connor (West Grove, PA/Avon Grove) also had one hit apiece for the Lions.

Sean Wing (Staten Island, NY/St. Peter's) started on the mound and took the hard-luck loss, after going seven innings, striking out four batters, and allowing no earned runs. Chamberlain finished the game with an inning in relief, recording two strikeouts and giving up no earned runs.

Neither team was able to cash in with runners in scoring position through seven innings, until the Mounties made Penn State Altoona pay for three mistakes in the top of the eighth. The leadoff hitter, Trent Dickson, reached on an outfield error, and after two outs, scored on a balk to give the visitors the day's first run. One batter later, Owen McDermott delivered an RBI single down the right-field line, and Tyler Day followed with a two-run double down the left-field line. Day later scored from third on a steal of home, and Mount Aloysius ended the inning with a 5-0 advantage.

Penn State Altoona made a push in the bottom of the eighth but still came up short. Tyreke Green (Altoona, PA/Altoona) led off with a walk, and Hillard homered to left to put the Lions on the board. One batter later, Chamberlain hit a solo shot over the fence in right field to make it 5-3, but Mount Aloysius recorded the last two outs to close the game with a two-run victory over Penn State Altoona.

Game Two: Penn State Altoona 9, Mount Aloysius 8 (Final/10 innings)

The Mounties' momentum carried into game two, and the visitors got out to a 6-1 lead through four-and-a-half innings. But the Lions began to claw their way back into the game and eventually tied the score in the bottom of the seventh. The teams traded runs in the ninth inning, and Penn State Altoona worked out of a jam in the top of the 10th to keep the score even. The Lions seized the win in the bottom half of the 10th, thanks to a walk-off double from Corey Chamberlain (Claysburg, PA/Claysburg-Kimmel).

Green went 4-for-6 at the plate with a double, two runs scored, an RBI, and a stolen base. Zach Ingold (Pittsburgh, PA/Baldwin) was 2-for-4 with his fifth home run of the season, three runs scored, an RBI, and a walk, and Chamberlain went 2-for-6 with the game-winning double and RBI.

Hillard hit his fifth home run of the season and finished with three RBI and two walks. Cole Strick (Windber, PA/Windber) walked three times to go along with a double, an RBI, and a run scored. Alex Hlivia (Pennsylvania Furnace, PA/State College) had a hit and an RBI, and Dominic McCaffrey (Spotswood, NJ/St. John Vianney) had a hit, a run scored, and a walk.

Jimmy Mento (Gates County, NC/Gates County) got the ball for game two and finished with a no decision after pitching 3 2/3 innings. Cole Suba (Pittsburgh, PA/North Allegheny) pitched 5 1/3 innings out of the bullpen and struck out three batters, before Wing tossed a scoreless 10th inning in his second appearance of the day to earn his fourth win of the season.

Mount Aloysius took the lead in the top of the first on Jeremy Eck's RBI infield hit to shortstop. The Mounties expanded their lead to 5-0 in the third, getting an RBI single from McDermott, run-scoring groundout by Day, and two-run double from Sidric Grove.

Penn State Altoona got on the board in the bottom half of the third, when Green doubled to center and later scored on a dropped fly ball with two outs, but Mount Aloysius got that run back in the top of the fifth when Grove swiped home as part of a double steal.

The Lions closed the gap to three in the bottom of the fifth, when Green reached on an infield hit and Hillard followed with a home run to left, cutting the Mounties' lead to 6-3.

Penn State Altoona continued to whittle away at its deficit in the sixth. Ingold led off with a single, and walks by McCaffrey and Strick loaded the bases with no outs. Two batters later, Green's RBI single to left and Hillard's bases-loaded walk trimmed the Mount Aloysius lead to 6-5.

The Lions knotted the score with one swing of the bat in the bottom of the seventh, when Ingold's one-out solo homer to right made it 6-6.

But Mount Aloysius reclaimed the lead in the top of the ninth, when Grove's RBI single to right center and Dickson's sac fly to center put the Mounties back in front, 8-6.

However, Penn State Altoona battled back yet again to tie the score in the bottom half of the inning. Ingold led off with a walk, and one batter later, scored on Strick's double down the left-field line. One batter after that, Hlivia delivered an RBI single through the left side to even the score at 8-8.

Penn State Altoona worked out of trouble in the top of the 10th inning to keep the score tied. With two Mount Aloysius runners in scoring position and just one out, the Lions turned an inning-ending double play, 5-3-2, to escape the frame unscathed.

In the bottom of the 10th, Chelli drew a one-out walk to put the go-ahead run on base, and Chamberlain followed with an RBI double to center to hand Penn State Altoona a walk-off victory.

Penn State Altoona baseball will host its final home games of the 2025 season this Saturday, April 26, against AMCC opponent Hilbert College. Game one of the doubleheader is slated to start at approximately 1 p.m., following the team's pre-game senior day ceremony.