ALTOONA, Pa. – The Penn State Altoona baseball team opened its home schedule with a pair of wins on Tuesday afternoon, as the Lions swept non-conference opponent Thiel College in a doubleheader at Stewart Athletic Field.

Penn State Altoona (7-10) used a well-rounded performance in game one to defeat Thiel (1-10) by a score of 8-1, and the Lions sealed the sweep with an 8-5 comeback win in game two. Penn State Altoona's first win of the day represented head coach RJ Barnard's 100th career victory as the program's head coach.

Game One: Penn State Altoona 8, Thiel 1

Penn State Altoona's offense got back on track in the first game of the doubleheader, producing eight runs on 10 hits. Meanwhile, the Lions got strong pitching and defense to blank the Tomcats in an error-free game.

Grant Barberich (Leesburg, VA/Heritage) went 3-for-3 to lead Penn State Altoona at the plate, driving in three runs while scoring one run. Jonathan Rauch (Pittsburgh, PA/Baldwin) was 2-for-3 with two runs batted in and one run scored, and Corey Chamberlain (Claysburg, PA/Claysburg-Kimmel) batted 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored.

Jake Hillard (State College, PA/State College) went 1-for-3 with a double, two runs scored, and a walk, and Zach Ingold (Pittsburgh, PA/Baldwin) was 1-for-2 with an RBI and two walks. Alex Hlivia (Pennsylvania Furnace, PA/State College) also drew two walks and scored a run.

Mack Meengs (State College, PA/State College) was the game one starting pitcher for Penn State Altoona and recorded his first win of the season, going five innings and holding Thiel to one run on four walks and two hits while striking out three. Alex Kitko (Houtzdale, PA/Moshannon Valley) and Cameron Dubbs (Palmyra, PA/Palmyra) each pitched one scoreless inning in relief.

Penn State Altoona put the day's first runs on the board in the bottom of the second. With one out, Barberich singled to left, and Hlivia and Grayson McClain (Mount Union, PA/Mount Union) followed with walks to load the bases. Ingold proceeded to walk to bring in Barberich, and Richard Carey's (Milton, DE/Cape Henlopen) sacrifice fly to center scored Hlivia to make it 2-0.

The Lions doubled their lead in the third, when Barberich came through with a two-run single down the left field line to drive in Hillard and Rauch.

Thiel got on the board in the top of the fifth inning, courtesy of a two-out RBI single to right-center from Aidan Ochs.

But Penn State Altoona answered by scoring two runs in the bottom of the fifth. Chamberlain led off the frame with a double, then scored on Rauch's RBI single through the right side of the infield. Garrett Alauzen (Pittsburgh, PA/Chartiers Valley) followed that by reaching on a base hit to right, and Barberich picked up another RBI with his single to right, extending the Lions' lead to 6-1.

Penn State Altoona got two more runs across in the sixth. Pinch runner Collin Hickey (Downingtown, PA/Downingtown East) stole second, moved up to third on a double play groundout, and scored on a passed ball. After a Hillard double to left, Rauch's RBI base hit made it 8-1.

Game Two: Penn State Altoona 8, Thiel 5

Thiel used a four-run top of the third inning to break a scoreless tie, but Penn State Altoona responded with three runs in the bottom of the third and five in the fourth to surge ahead and ultimately win by three.

Timothy Richard (Douglassville, PA/Daniel Boone) had a two-homer game for the Lions, going 3-for-4 with two home runs, one double, four RBI, and two runs scored. Chamberlain was 2-for-3 with a double, a run scored, and a walk, and Barberich finished 1-for-3 with two RBI.

Rauch started on the rubber in game two for Penn State Altoona and recorded his first collegiate victory, yielding four runs over five innings and striking out four batters. Kitko tossed two innings out of the bullpen to finish the game, allowing one run on one hit and striking out a pair.

In the top of the third, Thiel put four runs on the board. Nathan Prunty's RBI single through the left side drove in the game's first run, and Mike Sittig made it 2-0 on his RBI double down the left field line. Colton Brightwel followed with a two-run single up the middle, extending the Tomcats' lead to 4-0.

Penn State Altoona answered with three in the bottom half of the inning. Richard gave the home team its first run with his one-out solo shot to left, and Barberich tacked on two more runs later in the frame with a two-out, two-run single to center.

Richard and the Lions leapt into the lead in the fourth. With one out, Hlivia doubled to right-center and Tyreke Green (Altoona, PA/Altoona) walked to put two runners aboard. After that, Richard hit his second long ball of the game, homering to left-center to increase Penn State Altoona's lead to 6-4.

Penn State Altoona added two more runs later in the fourth. Rauch walked and Chamberlain doubled to put two runners in scoring position. When Thiel attempted to pick Chamberlain off of second base, Rauch made a break for home and slid in safely. An errant throw on the steal attempt allowed Chamberlain to come home, as well, making it 8-4.

Thiel trimmed its deficit to 8-5 on a Nick Guarnieri solo home run over the right field fence in the sixth. But the Lions surrendered no further damage, closing out the win to ice the doubleheader sweep.

Next up, Penn State Altoona will begin its Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference schedule on the road this Saturday, March 25, traveling west to face conference foe Pitt-Greensburg in a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m.