EBENSBURG, Pa. – The Penn State Altoona baseball team closed out its regular season schedule by hosting a doubleheader with Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference opponent Penn State Behrend on Saturday afternoon at Central Cambria High School's Red Devilplex.

Penn State Altoona (15-24, 5-9 AMCC) spotted Penn State Behrend (19-15, 9-5 AMCC) early leads in both games, Behrend held on in both contests to pull out wins of 10-9 and 9-7.

Prior to the games, the Lions held their Senior Day ceremony and recognized catchers Richard Carey (Milton, DE/Cape Henlopen) and Timothy Richard (Douglassville, PA/Daniel Boone) and pitchers Kyle Glass (Claysburg, PA/Claysburg-Kimmel) and Alex Kitko (Houtzdale, PA/Moshannon Valley) on their careers with the Penn State Altoona baseball program.

Game One: Penn State Behrend 10, Penn State Altoona 9

Facing an early deficit, Penn State Altoona clawed its way back to tie the score in the fourth inning. But Behrend reclaimed the lead, and the Lions came up just short in a one-run loss.

Jonathan Rauch (Pittsburgh, PA/Baldwin) was 4-for-5 at the plate for Penn State Altoona with two runs batted in and one run scored. Garrett Alauzen (Pittsburgh, PA/Chartiers Valley) went 2-for-2 with two RBI, a walk, and a stolen base.

Corey Chamberlain (Claysburg, PA/Claysburg-Kimmel) finished 2-for-4 with two RBI and a walk, and Carey was also 2-for-4 with a triple and two runs scored. Tyreke Green (Altoona, PA/Altoona) was 1-for-3 with a double, two runs scored, and a walk, and Grayson McClain (Mount Union, PA/Mount Union) was 1-for-2 with two runs scored and two walks.

Sam Homan (Altoona, PA/Bishop Guilfoyle) started on the mound and suffered the loss for the Lions, going 4 2/3 innings and yielding six earned runs while striking out five batters. Mack Meengs (State College, PA/State College) tossed 2 1/3 innings in relief, allowing three runs and recording three strikeouts.

Penn State Altoona loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the first inning, as the frame began with a Green double, Rauch single, and Chamberlain walk. Alauzen drew a one-out walk to score Green, but the Lions were unable to do any further damage in the inning.

Behrend pounced for five runs in the top of the second inning to surge ahead. Ryan Meneskie's RBI double tied the score, and John Berger's infield RBI bunt single put the visiting team on top. A sacrifice fly by Silvio Ionadi and a two-run home run from Isaac Stouffer made it 5-1.

Penn State Altoona picked up a run in the bottom of the third, helped by a two-out Behrend miscue. Jake Hillard (State College, PA/State College) reached on a two-out outfield error and moved up to second base on the play, then he scored on Alauzen's base hit to center.

Behrend upped its lead back to four in the top of the fourth, when Ionadi led off with a single and later scored on a throwing error after advancing to third on a wild pitch.

But Penn State Altoona rallied for four runs in the bottom of the fourth to even the score. After Carey led off with a triple off of the center field fence, Hlivia's RBI single to left made it 6-3. McClain followed with a walk, and Green was able to lay down a sac bunt to move both base runners into scoring position. Rauch's infield single to second and Chamberlain's base hit down the right-field line both drove in runs to make it a one-run game, and Hillard earned an RBI with his fielder's choice that allowed Rauch to come home, tying the score at 6-6.

Behrend countered with four runs in the top of the fifth to reestablish a lead, scoring all four with two outs. An RBI single from Ionadi put the visitors back in front, and Stouffer followed with a two-run double to right center. Mac Ciocco's RBI double put the Behrend lead at 10-6.

Penn State Altoona responded by scoring two in the bottom half of the fifth. With two outs, and following a Carey bunt single and Green walk, Rauch drove in a run with his single through the left side. Chamberlain's RBI base hit to right brought the Lions back to within two, 10-8.

With the score the same in the bottom of the seventh, Penn State Altoona continued to chip away at its deficit. After McClain led off with a base hit to center, Rauch reached on a one-out single to left center, and an error on the play allowed Rauch to move up to second and McClain to score, making it a one-run game. But Penn State Altoona was unable to get the tying run across, as Behrend hung on to win by one.

Game Two: Penn State Behrend 9, Penn State Altoona 7

Behrend built a 7-0 lead through three-and-a-half innings, and while Penn State Altoona fought to get back in the game, the Lions ultimately lost by two runs.

Green led the Lion hitters by going 3-for-5 with a double, three RBI, and a stolen base. Carey was 2-for-4 with two RBI, a run scored, and a walk.

Richard hit 2-for-5 with a double, an RBI, and a run scored, Chamberlain was 2-for-5 with a run scored, and Alex Hlivia (Pennsylvania Furnace, PA/State College) was 2-for-5 with two runs scored.

Eli Wiles (Kittanning, PA/Armstrong) was the starting pitcher, going four innings and shouldering the loss. Tristin Lockett (Mifflin County, PA/Mifflin County) pitched 2 2/3 innings in relief, allowing just one run. Kitko tossed a scoreless 1/3 inning, and Cameron Dubbs (Palmyra, PA/Palmyra) finished the game with two scoreless frames in which he allowed only one hit and struck out one batter.

Behrend scored two in the top of the first on an Ionadi RBI single and a Ciocco sac fly. The visitors increased their lead to 5-0 in the third, getting a two-run double by Ciocco and an RBI single from Daniel Boehme. Another two RBI double from Ciocco in the fourth gave Behrend a 7-0 advantage.

Penn State Altoona got on the board in the bottom of the fourth, cutting its deficit to five. Chamberlain singled and Alauzen walked, and they scored on Richard's double to center and Carey's base hit through the left side.

But Behrend got both runs back in the top of the fifth, when Berger drew a bases-loaded walk and Zac Bogats hit a sac fly.

Penn State Altoona got three runs across in the bottom of the sixth to bring its deficit down to four. Richard started the inning with a single to center, Carey walked, and Hlivia loaded the bases with a single into left. One batter later, Green cleared the bases with a double to left, lowering the Behrend lead to 9-5.

The Lions got to within three in the bottom of the eighth by scoring another run. Hlivia reached on an infield hit, and he later scored on Rauch's two-out RBI single up the middle that made it 9-6.

Penn State Altoona made another late-inning push in the bottom of the ninth. Hillard reached on an infield single to shortstop to lead off the inning, and he later scored on Carey's RBI single up the middle. But the Lions could not produce any more scoring in the inning, losing the nightcap by two.

Now, Penn State Altoona baseball will await the completion of other games around the AMCC to determine its postseason fate for the upcoming conference playoff tournament.