ALTOONA, Pa. – Penn State Altoona baseball came out on the losing end of two tightly-contested games on Thursday afternoon, when the Lions were swept in a doubleheader by non-conference opponent Wilson College at Stewart Athletic Field.

In game one, a late rally attempt by Penn State Altoona (4-8) fell short in a 3-1 loss. In game two, Wilson (13-3) won 10-8 in a back-and-forth game that was decided in extra innings.

Game One: Wilson 3, Penn State Altoona 1

The first game of the doubleheader featured strong pitching and defense from both sides.

Hunter Breon (Boiling Springs, PA/Boiling Springs) accounted for three of his team's five hits, going 3-for-4 with one run batted in. Grayson McClain (Mount Union, PA/Mount Union) went 1-for-3 with a walk, and Anthony Iannizzi (Leesburg, VA/Heritage) was also 1-for-3.

Adam Wildasin (Hershey, PA/Hershey) gave the Lions a strong start on the mound, going five innings and limiting Wilson to two runs on five hits and two walks while recording a pair of strikeouts. Tyler Manger (Lindenhurst, NY/Lindenhurst) tossed one inning in relief, giving up one run and striking out one batter. Austin Miller (Orbisonia. PA/Southern Huntingdon) followed with a scoreless inning out of the bullpen with one strikeout.

Brandon Cook's solo home run to right-center in the top of the first inning put Wilson on the board. In the fifth, his RBI single up the middle extended the visitors' lead to 2-0. The Phoenix used the long ball to add another run to their total in the sixth, when Peyton Mason's solo shot to right-center made it 3-0.

Penn State Altoona threatened to tie the game in the bottom of the seventh. Breon's RBI bunt single to second base got the Lions on the scoreboard, and after a groundout, Penn State Altoona placed two runners in scoring position with two outs. But Wilson escaped the inning to grab the game one victory.

Game Two: Wilson 10, Penn State Altoona 8 (Final/8 innings)

Penn State Altoona kept some of its momentum that was established late in game one rolling into game two, as the Lions' offense woke up to produce eight runs on 11 hits. The home team rallied to overcome deficits twice and send the game into extra innings, but the Phoenix ultimately prevailed when they scored two runs in the eighth and hung on for the victory.

Jake Hillard (State College, PA/State College) finished a perfect 5-for-5 at the plate with a double, an RBI, and two runs scored. Hillard's five-hit performance tied the Penn State Altoona baseball record for the most hits in a game.

Breon was 1-for-3 with two runs scored and a walk, and Richard Carey (Milton, DE/Cape Henlopen) was also 1-for-3 with a double, an RBI, and two walks. Grant King (Wingate, PA/Bald Eagle) went 1-for-3 with one run scored.

Jared Ennis (Richboro, PA/Council Rock South), Timothy Richard (Douglassville, PA/Daniel Boone), and Quinten Moslak (Philipsburg, PA/Philipsburg-Osceola) each finished with one RBI.

Bryson Byers (Chambersburg, PA/Chambersburg) started on the mound for Penn State Altoona and took a no decision, after going two innings and yielding four earned runs. Jake Bradish (Latrobe, PA/Greater Latrobe) followed with three innings in relief, allowing one run on just two hits and no walks with two strikeouts. Sam Homan (Altoona, PA/Bishop Guilfoyle) pitched one inning, giving up one run on one hit, and Hunter Johnson (Shippensburg, PA/Shippensburg) took the loss after pitching two innings and allowing three runs.

Wilson established an early lead again, getting two runs in the top of the first on Cook's RBI triple to right-center and Michael Marrale's run-scoring groundout. Cook and Marrale went back-to-back in the top of the second, when Cook's two-run shot and Marrale's solo homer increased the Phoenix lead to 5-0.

Carey's RBI double to right-center in the bottom of the second got Penn State Altoona on the board, but Wilson got that run back in the top of the third on Kevin Finn's RBI base hit.

The Lions trimmed their deficit to two in the bottom half of the third. Ennis' RBI double was followed by a throwing error that allowed Breon to score from third. Later, Hillard contributed an RBI single to left to cut the Wilson lead to 6-4.

Moslak's RBI single to center in the fifth made it a one-run game, 6-5. But Wilson widened the gap a little on Marrale's sacrifice fly in the sixth, which increased the visitors' lead back to two, 7-5.

A pair of Wilson miscues in the bottom of the sixth helped Penn State Altoona finally tie things up. Breon led off the frame with a base hit and eventually came around to score after back-to-back infield errors, cutting the Lions' deficit to 7-6. One batter later, Richard's RBI single to right-center evened the score at 7-7.

Wilson jumped back on top in the top half of the seventh, when James Husar's RBI double down the right field line gave the Phoenix an 8-7 lead.

But, in the bottom of the seventh, more errors by the visitors allowed Penn State Altoona to tie the score yet again. Moslak led off with a walk and moved up to third base following two sacrifices, and a two-out infield error by Wilson allowed him to score, sending the game to extras.

But Wilson reclaimed the lead for good in the top of the eighth, when another two-run home run from Cook gave the Phoenix a 10-8 advantage.

Hillard led off the bottom of the eighth with a single, bringing the tying run to the plate, but Penn State Altoona was unable to get anything else going, losing by two.

Next up, Penn State Altoona baseball returns to Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference play this weekend. The Lions will travel to Erie to face conference foe Penn State Behrend in a doubleheader on Saturday, April 10, with game one scheduled to start at 1:00 p.m. The games have been chosen as this week's AMCC Games of the Week in baseball.