AUBURNDALE, Fla. – The Penn State Altoona baseball team struggled to find its offense on Thursday morning, when the Lions suffered a 5-1 loss to Ursinus College at Lake Myrtle Park in the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational.

Penn State Altoona (3-5) got strong pitching that kept the Lions in the game, but Ursinus (6-7) starting pitcher T.J. Snyder tossed eight shutout innings to lead the Bears to victory.

Jonathan Rauch (Pittsburgh, PA/Baldwin) made his first collegiate start on the mound for Penn State Altoona and pitched well while shouldering the loss. The left-hander went six innings and allowed just one run on three hits and two walks while striking out nine batters. Caden Suba (Pittsburgh, PA/North Allegheny) also made his first collegiate appearance on the rubber, tossing three innings in relief, allowing two earned runs, and striking out a pair.

Penn State Altoona was held to just six hits as a team, with Corey Chamberlain (Claysburg, PA/Claysburg-Kimmel) and Grayson McClain (Mount Union, PA/Mount Union) each going 2-for-4. Grant Barberich (Leesburg, VA/Heritage) and Jake Hillard (State College, PA/State College) also had one hit apiece for the Lions.

Ursinus made it 1-0 in the top of the second inning on back-to-back doubles from Shane Beaver and Jakob Cantor. But Rauch put up zeroes for the remainder of his outing, including retiring the side in order in the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings.

The Bears were able to add to their lead in the seventh and eighth innings, aided by a pair of key Penn State Altoona errors. In the seventh, Dylan Runsdorf started the frame with a base hit to right, then advanced to third on an outfield error. Beaver followed with a base hit to right-center, making it 2-0. In the eighth, a two-out infield error allowed Jordan Williams to score, extending the Ursinus lead to three.

Ursinus tacked on a pair of runs in the top of the ninth on Will Kelley's two-run single up the middle.

Penn State Altoona spoiled the Bears' shutout hopes by getting a run across in the bottom of the ninth. Hillard reached on a one-out double to left-center, then scored on Chamberlain's base hit into right field.

Penn State Altoona baseball continues its week in the RussMatt Invitational tomorrow, Friday, March 10, when the Lions will take on Trine University in a doubleheader at the Historic Sanford Memorial Stadium in Sanford, Fla. Game one first pitch is set for 10 a.m.