Baseball Celebrates Seniors, Falls to Hilbert
ALTOONA, Pa. – The Penn State Altoona baseball team held its Senior Day on Sunday afternoon at Stewart Athletic Field, before dropping a doubleheader to Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference opponent Hilbert College.
Hilbert (18-15, 7-5 AMCC) powered past the Lions (13-23, 4-10 AMCC) in game one, 16-3, before winning game two in a shootout, 22-14.
Prior to game one, Penn State Altoona recognized 12 players in a Senior Day ceremony: pitcher Eli Wiles (Kittanning, PA/Armstrong), pitcher Sam Homan (Altoona, PA/Bishop Guilfoyle), infielder/pitcher Jimmy Mento (Gates County, NC/Gates County), utility player Jake Hillard (State College, PA/State College), middle infielder Alex Hlivia (Pennsylvania Furnace, PA/State College), infielder/pitcher Corey Chamberlain (Claysburg, PA/Claysburg-Kimmel), outfielder Tyreke Green (Altoona, PA/Altoona), outfielder James St. Laurent-Friend (Wake Forest, NC/Wake Forest), first baseman Fred Guarino IV (Waynesboro, PA/Waynesboro), infielder Tyler Gordon (Pottstown, PA/Owen J. Roberts), catcher Dominic McCaffrey (Spotswood, NJ/St. John Vianney), and middle infielder Harrison Knaupe (Smyrna, DE/Smyrna).
Game One: Hilbert 16, Penn State Altoona 3
Hilbert scored three runs in the top of the first and never trailed, as the Hawks used a steady dose of offense to deal the Lions a lopsided loss.
Green went 2-for-4 at the plate with a run scored, Friend was 2-for-4 with two doubles and a run scored, and Chamberlain was 2-for-3. Guarino hit his fifth home run of the season, and Hlivia also had a hit.
Homan started at pitcher and was saddled with the loss after going four innings. Cole Suba (Pittsburgh, PA/North Allegheny) pitched two innings in relief, while Ryan Jackson (Landisville, PA/Hempfield) went 2/3 inning and Carter Piercey (West Chester, PA/Bayard Rustin) tossed the last 1/3 inning.
Hilbert wasted little time working its way into the lead, scoring three runs in the top of the first inning. The Hawks got run-scoring singles from Kyle Borrello and Jack Duffek, along with a sacrifice fly by Dustin Hendrix, to establish the early advantage.
In the top of the third, a two-out infield error allowed Alex Ellison to score, increasing Hilbert's lead to 4-0.
Penn State Altoona capitalized on a Hilbert error in the bottom of third to get on the scoreboard. Green led off with a base hit, moved up to second on a groundout, then made it to third on Chamberlain's infield single. A throwing error during the play allowed Green to score from third, making it 4-1.
The Hawks boosted their lead to 7-1 in the top of the fourth on a three-run home run by Hendrix, but Penn State Altoona answered with two runs in the bottom half of the inning. Friend's one-out double down the left-field line put a runner aboard for the Lions, and Guarino followed with a two-run blast over the fence in center field to make it 7-3.
Hilbert added three more runs to its total in the fifth, when Woodey Fisher scored on an error and Hendrix drove in two more runs with his double to right center. In the sixth, Billy Lobello came home on a wild pitch, and Joey Haynes hit an RBI single to center to give the Hawks a 12-3 advantage.
The visitors went on to score two runs in the sixth and four in the seventh, finishing the contest with a 13-run decision over Penn State Altoona.
Game Two: Hilbert 22, Penn State Altoona 14
Penn State Altoona's bats awoke early in game two, and the Lions stormed out to a 9-2 lead after two innings. But Hilbert kept pouring on the offense, and the Hawks sealed the doubleheader sweep with an eight-run victory.
Green went 5-for-6 with two doubles, three RBI, a run scored, and a stolen base, and his five hits tied for the most in a game in Penn State Altoona history. Chamberlain was 3-for-6 with his fourth home run of the season, six RBI, and three runs scored, and Brian Chelli (West Hartford, CT/Hall) was 3-for-5 with a double, three runs scored, a walk, and a stolen base.
Hlivia hit 2-for-5 with a run and a stolen base, and Zach Ingold (Pittsburgh, PA/Baldwin) was 2-for-6 with an RBI and a stolen base. Guarino had three RBI and hit his sixth home run of the season.
Michael Labisi (Mountainside, NJ/Governor Livingston) made the start at pitcher and went 3 1/3 innings in a no decision. Sean Wing (Staten Island, NY/St. Peter's) was saddled with the loss after tossing 4 1/3 innings in relief, and Wiles finished the game with the last 1 1/3 innings on the mound.
Hilbert secured a lead in the top of the first inning on a two-run homer from Borello, but Penn State Altoona responded with seven runs in the bottom half of the inning. Chamberlain's two-RBI single up the middle tied the score, and two batters later, Guarino put the Lions in front with a three-run homer to left, his second long ball of the day. Green's two-run double to deep right center allowed Hlivia and Aidan Donovan (Staten Island, NY/St. Peter's) to score, giving Penn State Altoona a 7-2 advantage.
The Lions added to their lead in the bottom of the second. Chamberlain's RBI base hit to center drove in one run, and he later scored from third on a throwing error to make it 9-2.
Hilbert put together a four-run top of the third to get back into the game, using a Hendrix RBI single, Patrick Evans RBI double, and Duffek two-run base hit to close the gap to three, 9-6. The Hawks made it a one-run game in the top of the fourth, when they got a Borello solo home run and Nolan Evans sac fly to cut the Lions' lead to 9-8.
The visitors proceeded to take the lead in the top of the sixth, when Duffek hit a two-run home run to left center to put the Hawks ahead, 10-9. Hilbert picked up a run in the seventh when Haynes scored on a two-out error by the Lions.
The Hawks used a pair of runs to expand their lead to 15-9 in the eighth, as Austin Wasily and Haynes each hit a two-run homer for the visitors.
Penn State Altoona got a run back in the bottom of the eighth. Chelli led off with a walk, stole second, and came home on Ingold's RBI single into right field, making it 15-10. But the Hawks continued to grow their lead in the ninth, getting seven runs across to make it 22-10.
The Lions picked up four runs in the bottom of the ninth. Gordon scored on Green's groundout for one run, and Chamberlain hit a three-run homer to center to set the score at 22-14.
With their regular season Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference schedule now complete, the Lions will dip back into non-conference play to round out their schedule. Penn State Altoona's next games are Tuesday, April 29, when the team will head to Bethany, W.Va., to face Bethany College in a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.
