ALFRED, N.Y. – The Penn State Altoona baseball team's impressive Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Tournament run continued on Friday afternoon, when the sixth-seeded Lions defeated five seed Hilbert College 12-3 in the second day of the league's championship rounds at Alfred State College's Pioneer Field.

With its victory, Penn State Altoona (19-25) advances to the AMCC Championship tomorrow, Saturday, May 13, against the winner of today's matchup between top seed Alfred State and Hilbert. First pitch of tomorrow's championship is set for a 11 a.m.

In accordance with the rules of the double elimination tournament, the Lions will get two shots to win the AMCC title tomorrow, as Penn State Altoona has not yet suffered a loss during the championship rounds of the tournament.

For the second day in a row, the Lions got strong starting pitching to set the tone early in the game, while the team's offense continued to click, producing 12 runs on 18 hits. Penn State Altoona led 3-0 through four-and-a-half innings, and after Hilbert (25-17) tied the score in the bottom of the fifth, the Lions scored nine runs over the game's final three innings to win by a wide margin.

Sam Homan (Altoona, PA/Bishop Guilfoyle) started on the mound and was awarded his seventh win of the season. In 5 2/3 innings of work, the left-hander limited Hilbert to three runs while striking out four batters. Mack Meengs (State College, PA/State College) entered in relief to pitch the final 3 1/3 innings, putting up zeroes while registering six strikeouts to notch his fifth save of the year.

Meanwhile, five different Lion hitters produced a multi-hit game at the plate.

Jake Hillard (State College, PA/State College) was 4-for-6 with three doubles – tying for the most doubles in a game in Penn State Altoona baseball history – to go along with three runs scored and two runs batted in. Jonathan Rauch (Pittsburgh, PA/Baldwin) also had a four-hit game, finishing 4-for-6 with two runs scored and one RBI.

Timothy Richard (Douglassville, PA/Daniel Boone) was 2-for-5 with four RBI, one run scored, and the go-ahead home run, his fourth long ball of the season. Corey Chamberlain (Claysburg, PA/Claysburg-Kimmel) went 3-for-6 with two RBI and two runs scored, and Grayson McClain (Mount Union, PA/Mount Union) was 2-for-4 with a run scored, a walk, and a stolen base.

Garrett Alauzen (Pittsburgh, PA/Chartiers Valley), Grant Barberich (Leesburg, VA/Heritage), and Richard Carey (Milton, DE/Cape Henlopen) also had one hit apiece for the Lions, with Carey also recording a pair of RBI.

Penn State Altoona plated a run in the top of the first when Hillard led off with a double to left-center field and Rauch followed with an RBI single to center.

The Lions increased their lead to 3-0 in the top half of the fifth, helped by a pair of Hilbert errors. With Rauch at first following his single to right, Chamberlain and Alauzen reached on back-to-back errors to load the bases with one out. After the second out was recorded, Richard came up with a two-run single to left to extend Penn State Altoona's advantage to three.

Hilbert scored three runs in the bottom of the fifth to knot the score at 3-3. Patrick Whelan's two-run double down the left-field line put the Hawks on the board, and Griffin McAndrews' RBI single to center even the score at three runs apiece.

But Penn State Altoona reclaimed the lead in the top of the seventh, thanks to a big swing. Alauzen started the frame with a base hit to center, and after a Carey sacrifice bunt, Richard hit a two-run homer to left to put the Lions back on top, 5-3.

The Lions expanded their lead with a four-run top of the eighth. With one out, Hillard doubled and Rauch singled to put runners at the corners. Chamberlain came next with an RBI single to center, and one batter later, Carey drove in two more with his base hit to center. A pair of Hilbert errors on the play allowed Carey to come all the way home, and the Lions led 9-3 by the conclusion of the inning.

Penn State Altoona tacked on three more runs in the top of the ninth. With one out, Alex Hlivia (Pennsylvania Furnace, PA/State College) walked and McClain singled, and Hillard drove both runners in with his double to left. One batter later, a Chamberlain RBI single to right made it 12-3.

Penn State Altoona will be making its first appearance in the conference championship since 2019, when the Lions suffered a 6-0 loss to then-top seed La Roche University. The program will be seeking its third-ever AMCC title, which would lead to the team advancing to the NCAA Division III Tournament for the second time in program history.