ALFRED, N.Y. – The Penn State Altoona baseball team's magical Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Tournament run ended in victory on Saturday at Pioneer Field, when the Lions defeated Hilbert College 14-5 to claim their third AMCC title in program history.

It was a challenging road to the conference championship for Penn State Altoona (20-25), which squeaked into the AMCC Tournament as the sixth and final seed in the field with a 5-9 conference record during the regular season. The Lions upset third seed Mount Aloysius College in the first round of the tournament, surviving a best-of-three series against their nearby conference rivals. After that, Penn State Altoona knocked off second-seeded Penn State Behrend on Thursday, then topped fifth-seeded Hilbert on Friday to earn a shot at the AMCC crown.

The Lions came through Saturday with a convincing victory over Hilbert (26-18) to cap their impressive postseason. Penn State Altoona built a 6-2 lead early in the game, then scored eight runs over the final two innings to break the game open and ultimately secure the AMCC championship.

With the win, Penn State Altoona baseball gets the AMCC's automatic qualification to compete in the NCAA Division III Tournament later this upcoming week. The Lions will travel to an NCAA regional site, and a full schedule and announcement of matchups will be released by the NCAA office on Monday.

Penn State Altoona's bats continued to churn out offense for the team, as the Lions produced 14 runs on 15 hits. Five different Lion batters finished with a multi-hit game.

Timothy Richard (Douglassville, PA/Daniel Boone) was 2-for-5 with a grand slam, his team-leading fifth home run of the season. He finished with one run scored, one walk, and tallied seven runs batted in, tying for the third-most RBI in a game by a Lions player in program history.

Corey Chamberlain (Claysburg, PA/Claysburg-Kimmel) was 3-for-5 with a double, an RBI, and a run scored, and Grant Barberich (Leesburg, VA/Heritage) was 3-for-6. Jonathan Rauch (Pittsburgh, PA/Baldwin) finished 2-for-4 with three runs scored, two RBI, and two walks, and Grayson McClain (Mount Union, PA/Mount Union) was 2-for-3 with two runs scored and two walks.

Jake Hillard (State College, PA/State College) hit his third home run of the season while finishing with three runs scored, two RBI, and two walks. Garrett Alauzen (Pittsburgh, PA/Chartiers Valley) and Richard Carey (Milton, DE/Cape Henlopen) also had hits for the Lions.

On the rubber, Tristin Lockett (Mifflin County, PA/Mifflin County) got the start and finished with a no decision, pitching 4 2/3 innings while yielding five runs. Penn State Altoona's bullpen put up zeroes, as Cameron Dubbs (Palmyra, PA/Palmyra), Joshua Fleck (Orbisonia, PA/Southern Huntingdon), Sean Wing (Staten Island, NY/St. Peter's), and Mack Meengs (State College, PA/State College) combined to throw 4 1/3 shutout innings the rest of the way. Dubbs picked up the win, his second of the season.

Penn State Altoona capitalized on a bases loaded situation in the top of the first to score the game's first runs. Hillard and Rauch drew walks, and Alauzen was hit by a pitch to load the bases with one out. Carey followed with a bases-loaded walk to bring in Hillard, and Richard's fielder's choice plated Rauch to make it 2-0.

Hilbert responded with a two-run home run from Patrick Whelan in the bottom of the first, tying the score at 2-2.

Penn State Altoona kept coming, however, getting four runs across in the top of the second to reclaim the lead. After walks to Alex Hlivia (Pennsylvania Furnace, PA/State College) and Hillard, as well as a McClain base hit, a wild pitch allowed Hlivia to come home from third, putting the Lions back in front, 3-2. Rauch came next with a two-run single to left, and Chamberlain's RBI double to center set the Penn State Altoona advantage at 6-2.

Hilbert cut its deficit to three in the bottom of the third, when a Sebastian Gomez RBI single to left made it 6-3. The Hawks proceeded to make it a one-run game in the bottom of the fifth, when Jack Duffek's two-run homer lowered the Penn State Altoona lead to 6-5.

But the Lions never relinquished their lead, and they added eight runs to their total across the eighth and ninth innings.

In the eighth, Penn State Altoona had two runners in scoring position with two outs, following a Chamberlain single and Carey double. Richard's two-run double to left increased the Lions' lead back to three, 8-5.

In the ninth, McClain drew a one-out walk, and Hillard homered to give Penn State Altoona a 10-5 lead. The Lions then loaded the bases, when Rauch and Chamberlain both hit singles and Alauzen reached on an error. Richard capped his big day with a grand slam to give Penn State Altoona a 14-5 advantage heading into the last half inning.

The Lions closed out the bottom of the ninth, punching their ticket to the NCAA tournament.

Notes: At the conclusion of the championship, Penn State Altoona junior utility player Jake Hillard, sophomore shortstop Corey Chamberlain, and freshman first baseman Jonathan Rauch were all named to the AMCC's All-Tournament team for their performances during the playoffs...the Lions' AMCC championship win represents the third conference title in program history and the team's first since 2011...the team's NCAA Tournament appearance will be the program's second.