DAVENPORT, Fla. – Penn State Altoona baseball split a lopsided doubleheader with Illinois College on Sunday at Northeast Regional Park in the Lions' second day of competition in the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational.

In game one, Penn State Altoona (3-3) had its best day at the plate of the young season in a 16-7 victory. But Illinois College (1-5) responded with a similar win of its own in game two, prevailing 15-7.

Game One: Penn State Altoona 16, Illinois College 7

The Lions broke out the bats to put 16 runs on the scoreboard on 14 hits, and four different Penn State Altoona hitters had a multi-hit performance.

Alex Hlivia (Pennsylvania Furnace, PA/State College) finished a double shy of hitting for the cycle, going 3-for-5 with a triple and a home run while scoring three runs and driving in three. Richard Carey (Milton, DE/Cape Henlopen) was 2-for-2 with four runs batted in.

Grayson McClain (Mount Union, PA/Mount Union) was 2-for-4 with a triple, two runs scored, and two walks, and Corey Chamberlain (Claysburg, PA/Claysburg-Kimmel) also hit 2-for-4 with a double, two runs scored, and an RBI.

On the mound, Tristin Lockett (Mifflin County, PA/Mifflin County) started and picked up his first win of the season, going four innings, surrendering five runs, and striking out seven batters. Mack Meengs (State College, PA/State College) pitched three innings in relief, yielding a pair of runs while recording two strikeouts to notch his second save of the season.

Penn State Altoona got off to a quick start, when McClain led off the top of the first inning with a triple to center and Carey followed with an RBI single to left. The Lions doubled their lead in the top of the third, when an RBI single to center from Zach Ingold (Pittsburgh, PA/Baldwin) made it 2-0.

Illinois College used a three-run bottom of the third to jump in front, getting an RBI double from Louie Barletti and a two-run single from Jaydon Davis to make it 3-2.

Penn State Altoona evened the score at 3-3 in the next half inning, when Carey's sacrifice fly to left brought home Hlivia, who led off the frame with a triple. But the Blue Boys answered quickly, retaking the lead on a two-run single by Jayden Kasai to make it 5-3.

But Penn State Altoona put together a five-run top of the fifth to ultimately take control of the game. RBI doubles from Chamberlain and Jonathan Rauch (Pittsburgh, PA/Baldwin) knotted the score at five runs apiece, and Ingold later scored on a passed ball to give the Lions the lead. One batter later, Carey's two-run single extended Penn State Altoona's advantage to 8-5.

The Lions added a run to their total in the top of the sixth, when Jake Hillard (State College, PA/State College) led off with a walk and later scored on a passed ball.

Penn State Altoona broke the game open with a seven-run top of the seventh. McClain started the inning by drawing a walk and scored on an error two batters later to get the Lions to 10 runs, and Hillard followed that with an RBI double to center to make it 11-5. Later in the frame, Collin Hickey (Downingtown, PA/Downingtown East) scored on an error, and Hlivia hit a three-run home run – the first long ball of his collegiate career – to put his team ahead 16-5.

Illinois College tacked two more runs on to its total in the bottom of the seventh on an RBI groundout from Jesse Stout and an RBI double from Cullen McBride.

Game Two: Illinois College 15, Penn State Altoona 7

The Blue Boys put six runs on the board in the top of the first inning en route to a 9-0 lead through three-and-a-half, and Illinois College picked up an eight-run win in game two. The Lions were unable to duplicate their offensive success from game one, as the team was limited to just five hits in the second half of the doubleheader.

Chamberlain went 2-for-4 for Penn State Altoona with a home run, three RBI, and two runs scored. Hillard, Hlivia, and Garrett Alauzen (Pittsburgh, PA/Chartiers Valley) also recorded hits for the Lions.

Bryant Allison (Alexandria, PA/Juniata Valley) started at pitcher for Penn State Altoona and took the loss, allowing four earned runs across 3 2/3 innings while striking out four batters. Cole Brechbill (Hagerstown, MD/North Hagerstown) tossed a scoreless 1 1/3 innings in relief, and Joshua Fleck (Orbisonia, PA/Southern Huntingdon) and Sean Wing (Staten Island, NY/St. Peter's) also pitched one inning each out of the pen.

Penn State Altoona was plagued by miscues in the top of the first, when the Lions committed four errors in a six-run inning for Illinois College. The Blue Boys increased their lead to 9-0 in the top half of the fourth, getting a sac fly from Ryan Huskey and a two-run single from Griffin King.

The Lions got on the board in the bottom of the fourth, when Hillard and Chamberlain reached on back-to-back singles and came around to score on wild pitches. Penn State Altoona trimmed its deficit to three in the fifth, when Hillard's fielder's choice grounder drove in Hickey and Chamberlain's three-run homer made it 9-6.

Illinois College got four runs back in the top of the sixth to add some cushion to its lead. Jon Tate's RBI single to center and King's two-run double to left made it 12-6, and King scored on a wild pitch to give his team a seven-run advantage.

Penn State Altoona picked up a run in the bottom of the sixth, when Fred Guarino IV (Waynesboro, PA/Waynesboro) led off with a walk and later scored on Hickey's sac fly.

But the Blue Boys got two more runs in the top of the seventh, when McBride hit an RBI double and later scored on a wild pitch to put the Illinois College lead at 15-7.

Next up, Penn State Altoona heads into its first of two days off this week, and the Lions will return to action on Tuesday, March 7 to face the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth in a single, nine-inning game at Lake Myrtle Park in Auburndale. First pitch is scheduled for 9:30 a.m.