ALTOONA, Pa. – Strong pitching and defense and timely hitting keyed the Penn State Altoona baseball team's doubleheader sweep of Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference opponent Pitt-Bradford on Sunday afternoon at Stewart Athletic Field.

Penn State Altoona (12-19, 3-5 AMCC) pulled out a tight 4-3 victory in game one, then came back to beat Pitt-Bradford (6-19, 3-5 AMCC) by a score of 9-4 in game two.

The Lions played error-free defense on the day while getting a pair of strong pitching performances, and the team came up with several hits in significant moments to generate runs.

Game One: Penn State Altoona 4, Pitt-Bradford 3

Each team put three runs on the board in the first inning, but both teams' pitchers settled in, and Penn State Altoona scored the only run the rest of the way to eke out a close win.

Eli Wiles (Kittanning, PA/Armstrong) started on the mound and went 6 1/3 innings to record his second win of the season. The right-hander yielded three runs on just five hits and three walks, and he struck out four Pitt-Bradford batters. Mack Meengs (State College, PA/State College) tossed the final 2/3 inning for the Lions, striking out one and notching his fourth save of the spring.

Garrett Alauzen (Pittsburgh, PA/Chartiers Valley) was 2-for-3 with two doubles, two runs batted in, and a run scored, and Jake Hillard (State College, PA/State College) was 2-for-3 with a run scored.

Pitt-Bradford drew first blood in the top of the first inning, when Evan Fragela's three-run home run to right gave the visitors the lead.

Penn State Altoona came back with three runs of its own in the bottom of the first. Zach Ingold (Pittsburgh, PA/Baldwin) singled to lead off the inning, and Jonathan Rauch (Pittsburgh, PA/Baldwin) was hit by a pitch to put two runners aboard. Hillard's base hit to right loaded the bases, and Grant Barberich (Leesburg, VA/Heritage) drove in the Lions' first run with his sacrifice fly to left. Alauzen followed with a two-run double to right, knotting the score at 3-3.

The score remained tied until the bottom of the fourth, when Penn State Altoona scored the go-ahead run. Alauzen started the frame by hitting his second double of the contest, and Richard Carey (Milton, DE/Cape Henlopen) drove him in with a single up the middle, giving the Lions a 4-3 advantage.

Wiles continued to put up zeroes, including working out of a jam in the top of the sixth. Pitt-Bradford got two runners into scoring position with just one out, but Wiles struck out the next two batters to end the threat.

In the top of the seventh, the Panthers put the potential tying run on base via a one-out walk. But Meengs entered the game and used a strikeout and popup to shut the door on Pitt-Bradford and preserve the win for Penn State Altoona.

Game Two: Penn State Altoona 9, Pitt-Bradford 4

Pitt-Bradford again made noise in the first inning, as the Panthers scored four runs to grab an early lead. But Penn State Altoona clawed its way back, shutting out the visitors the rest of the way while overtaking the Panthers' lead and winning by five.

Tristin Lockett (Mifflin County, PA/Mifflin County) got the game-two start at pitcher and finished with a no decision after pitching one inning. Alex Kitko (Houtzdale, PA/Moshannon Valley) entered in relief and blanked Pitt-Bradford the rest of the way, going eight innings and allowing just four hits and two walks while striking out four. The righty notched his first win of the season.

At the plate, six different Penn State Altoona hitters finished with a two-hit game.

Alex Hlivia (Pennsylvania Furnace, PA/State College) was 2-for-3 with three runs scored, an RBI, a walk, and a stolen base, and Ingold also went 2-for-3 with a double, three RBI, a run scored, and a walk.

Timothy Richard (Douglassville, PA/Daniel Boone) hit 2-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI, and Tyreke Green (Altoona, PA/Altoona) was also 2-for-4 with a double, an RBI, and a run scored.

Rauch was 2-for-5 with a double and an RBI, and Corey Chamberlain (Claysburg, PA/Claysburg-Kimmel) batted 2-for-5 with an RBI and a stolen base.

Pitt-Bradford scored all four of its runs in the top of the first. Nico Hall led off the frame with a walk and later scored from third on a steal of home. Justin Dattoli drew a bases-loaded walk to bring home another run, and Kevin Rehak's groundout to the pitcher plated the Panthers' third run. Trent Bielak scored on a wild pitch to make it 4-0.

Penn State Altoona got a run back in the bottom of the first. Ingold started the inning with a walk, and Rauch's single through the right side put runners at the corners. Pitt-Bradford turned a double play in the next at-bat, but Ingold scored on the play to make it 4-1.

The Lions trimmed their deficit to one in the bottom of the second, thanks to some two-out magic. After Pitt-Bradford retired the first two batters of the inning, Hlivia and Green reached on back-to-back singles. Ingold followed with an RBI single into right field, and Rauch's RBI double to right center cut the Panthers' lead to 4-3.

Penn State Altoona leapt ahead in the fourth. Alauzen led off with a base hit up the middle, and he later scored on Green's RBI double down the right field line that tied the score, 4-4. Ingold's groundout to second base allowed Hlivia to score from third after walking earlier in the inning, and the Lions went up 5-4.

Penn State Altoona expanded its lead over the remainder of the game.

In the fifth, Richard's RBI single to right center gave the Lions a 6-4 advantage. Ingold's RBI double to right and Chamberlain's RBI single to right center made it 8-4 in the sixth, and a Hlivia RBI single down the right field line in the seventh extended the home team's lead to 9-4.

Meanwhile, Kitko forced Pitt-Bradford to strand five baserunners in his eight innings of work, keeping the Panthers off of the scoreboard after the first inning.

Penn State Altoona baseball returns to action at home this Wednesday, April 19, when the Lions host AMCC opponent La Roche University for a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m.