AMCC Baseball Game of the Week: Penn St. Altoona Lions @ Mt. Aloysius Mounties (Wednesday, April 22 - 1:00 p.m.)

This week's AMCC Baseball Game of the Week features local rivals Penn St. Altoona and Mt. Aloysius College. With their Pennsylvania campuses sitting just 20 miles apart from each other, this series can have major implications for both teams. Penn St. Altoona is sitting in seventh place and is fighting for a playoff spot, while third place Mt. Aloysius is fighting for a top seed in the conference tournament.

Penn State Altoona baseball (11-22, 4-8 AMCC) is looking for a late season push to solidify a spot in the AMCC Tournament for the eighth consecutive season, and wins against Mount Aloysius College on Wednesday would go a long way to help the Lions’ playoff hopes. Sophomore first baseman Pat McHenry is having another strong season as a run producer, as he currently leads the conference in home runs (7) and runs batted in (38). Senior outfielder Jordan Swope ranks first in the AMCC in runs scored with 33 and is hitting .339 this season, while sophomore outfielder Jack Cleary is eighth in the league with a .382 batting average. On the mound, freshman lefthander Luke Stano has been a good addition to the team’s starting pitching this season. In seven appearances, the first-year southpaw is 2-2 with three complete games and a 3.97 earned run average.

The Mt. Aloysius baseball team enters Wednesday's doubleheader with a 17-15 overall record and a 7-5 mark in the AMCC. In their most recent AMCC doubleheader on Saturday, the Mounties swept D'Youville by scores of 3-0 and 8-6 on the road. Senior Derrick Capiak led the Mounties in game one with a complete-game shutout as he allowed just three hits while striking out eight for the game. Mt. Aloysius completed the sweep in extras in game two as junior shortstop Ian Helsel came up big with a two-run home run in the top of the 10th inning, and junior Brady Wright sealed the victory with a scoreless inning on the mound. Sophomore Benjamin Legath leads Mt. Aloysius offensively with a .342 average and 23 RBIs, and junior Connor Bowie is hitting .319 with five home runs, 21 RBIs and 17 steals. Wright is 3-1 out of the bullpen with a 1.98 ERA in 12 appearances with two saves for Mounties. Capiak is 4-2 in seven starts with 52 strikeouts, the most in the conference.