ALFRED, N.Y. – The No. 5 seed Penn State Altoona baseball team was eliminated from the conference postseason on Saturday afternoon, when No. 4 seed Alfred State College rallied to victory in games one and two of the teams' Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Tournament first round, best-of-three series at Pioneer Field.

With its series win, Alfred State (17-23) will advance to the AMCC Championship Rounds next week at No. 1 seed Mount Aloysius College. Penn State Altoona (17-20) is eliminated from the tournament.

In game one, the Lions overcame a 3-0 deficit and established a 4-3 lead in the sixth inning, but Alfred State tied the score, then later won 5-4 on a walkoff in the bottom of the 11th. Penn State Altoona built a 5-2 lead in game two, but the Pioneers came from behind to go ahead in the eighth inning and deal the Lions a 6-5 loss.

Game One: Alfred State 5, Penn State Altoona 4 (Final/11 innings)

The Lions suffered a hard loss in extra innings in game one of the series. After trailing 3-0 through three innings, Penn State Altoona worked its way back and eventually took its first lead of the game, 4-3, in the top of the sixth. Alfred State tied the score in the bottom of the sixth, and the 4-4 tie held up through nine innings, sending the game to extras. The Pioneers ultimately secured the win on a walkoff in the bottom of the 11th inning.

Tyreke Green (Altoona, PA/Altoona) went 2-for-5 with two runs scored and a run batted in, and Grayson McClain (Mount Union, PA/Mount Union) finished 2-for-5 with a double and a run scored.

Corey Chamberlain (Claysburg, PA/Claysburg-Kimmel), Aidan Donovan (Staten Island, NY/St. Peter's), Jake Hillard (State College, PA/State College), Zach Ingold (Pittsburgh, PA/Baldwin), and Jonathan Rauch (Pittsburgh, PA/Baldwin) also had one hit apiece for the Lions. Chamberlain and Rauch had one RBI each, and Hillard scored a run.

Eric Seick (Mount Laurel, NJ/Camden Catholic) got the start on the rubber and finished with a no decision, going six innings and limiting the Pioneers to four runs. Sean Wing (Staten Island, NY/St. Peter's) followed with a strong appearance out of the bullpen but was saddled with the loss, pitching 4 2/3 innings and allowing one run.

Alfred State scored the game's first three runs, putting one on the board in the first, second, and third innings. In the bottom of the first, Jack Curabba's RBI single to right center put the Pioneers on the board, and Joshua Gardner's RBI double to left in the second made it 2-0. Curabba drove in his team's third run on a double to left in the third, putting Alfred State up 3-0.

Penn State Altoona made it a one-run game in the top of the fourth. McClain led off with a double down the left-field line, moved up to third on a wild pitch, and then scored on Green's RBI single to first base. After a Hillard single to left center, Rauch grounded into a fielder's choice, and an Alfred State error during the play allowed Green to score, bringing the Lions to within one, 3-2.

Penn State Altoona grabbed its first lead of the day in the top half of the sixth, helped by more leadoff success. McClain started things off with a base hit to left, and Green's bunt single put two runners on with no outs. One batter later, Rauch's RBI single through the right side brought in one run, and Chamberlain followed with a go-ahead RBI single to left center, putting the Lions up 4-3.

The Pioneers responded quickly, however, tying the game in the bottom of the sixth on Anthony Snyder's RBI double down the left-field line.

With the score tied 4-4, each team put the potential go-ahead run on base over the next three innings, only to have the opportunity squashed each time. The Lions got leadoff singles from Donovan in the seventh and Ingold in the ninth, while Rauch reached with one out in the eighth after being hit by a pitch. Alfred State got a one-out single and a walk in the seventh, a leadoff free pass in the eighth, and a two-out hit in the ninth. But both teams came up emptyhanded each time, and the game advanced to extra innings.

After nine straight outs, Alfred State got the first base runner of extra innings in the bottom of the 11th, when Devin Mersmann singled to center with one out. Mersmann stole second base to move into scoring position, and after a groundout, he scored on Elijah Barinas' two-out RBI single to center, which handed the Pioneers the game-one victory.

Game Two: Alfred State 6, Penn State Altoona 5

Alfred State scored the game's first runs in the second inning, but Penn State Altoona put five runs on the board across its next two frames to jump ahead, 5-2. The Pioneers got a run back in the sixth, then surged ahead with three in the eighth, and the home team went on to win 6-5.

Donovan finished 2-for-4 at the plate with a run scored, while Chamberlain went 2-for-5 with a pair of doubles.

Alex Hlivia (Pennsylvania Furnace, PA/State College) and Green each had a hit, an RBI, and a run scored. McClain was 1-for-2 with a run and a walk, Ingold had a hit and a run, Rauch tallied a hit and an RBI, and Jimmy Mento (Corapeake, NC/Gates County) also recorded a hit.

Eli Wiles (Kittanning, PA/Armstrong) started on the mound in game two and took a no decision, holding Alfred State to four runs over seven innings of work while striking out six batters. Cole Brechbill (Hagerstown, MD/North Hagerstown) pitched one inning in relief with one strikeout and suffered the loss.

The Pioneers drew first blood in the second inning, when Tyler Petery scored on a wild pitch and Caleb Walker came home on Gardner's sacrifice fly.

Penn State Altoona cut its deficit in half in the third. McClain started the inning with a single into right field, then made it to third base following a pair of groundouts. Rauch came up with a two-out RBI single to center, and the Lions closed the gap to 2-1.

The Lions used a four-run fourth inning to leap in front. Ingold led off with a base hit to left, and Mento moved him up with a sac bunt in the next at-bat. Donovan followed with a single to right, putting runners at the corners for Penn State Altoona. Hlivia picked up the tying RBI in the next at-bat, reaching on a fielding error that allowed Ingold to come home from third. One out later, Green's RBI single to center gave Penn State Altoona a 3-2 lead, and Green and Hlivia both scored on another error in the next at-bat to make it 5-2.

Alfred State made it a two-run difference in the sixth, when Walker's two-out RBI single down the left-field line put the Lions' lead at 5-3.

The Pioneers scored three runs in the eighth to work their way back in front. Connor Kiefer's two-run double to left tied the score at five, and Aidan Murphy put down a sac bunt that scored Kiefer from third on a squeeze to give Alfred State a 6-5 advantage.

Penn State Altoona was retired in order in the top of the ninth, and Alfred State closed out its win in game two.

Notes: Senior outfielder McClain and sophomore catcher Donovan were both named to the All-Tournament team at the conclusion of the AMCC playoffs.