PENN STATE ALTOONA, HILBERT EARN UPSET VICTORIES & ADVANCE TO CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND

#5 Hilbert College and #6 Penn State Altoona each earned upset victories in the First Round of the AMCC Baseball Championship Tournament to advance to the final four teams in the Championship Round hosted by Alfred State College May 11-13.

The Hawks earned a lop-sided opening victory over #4 Pitt-Greensburg, taking game one 25-11. Hilbert was fueled by three heavy-hitting innings and solid pitching on the mound. The Hawks then swept the Bobcats in the night cap, winning 17-5, with another hot middle-innings performance. Rookies Ronald Mort improved to 2-1 and Brennen Hediger grabbed his fifth win, improving to 5-4 in the nightcap. 

Game 1: Hilbert 25, Pitt-Greensburg 11
The Hawks set a new Hilbert Single Game record with 25 runs scored, breaking the old record of 23 runs scored against Eastern in 2017. Hilbert recorded 24 RBI off 24 hits, three doubles, a triple and only one home run.  The Hawks walked eight times and were hit by pitch twice, while only attempting and credited with one stolen base. Thomas Evans (4R, 5 RBI) and Jack Duffek (4R, 4 RBI) each led the Hawks with four hits, Evans poking his 12th home run of the season while Duffek connected for two doubles. Griffin McAndrews recorded four RBI, several from his triple in the sixth inning and Alex Ellison added four RBI off his three hits. Patrick Whelan (2 RBI, 1R), John Riviere-Vejas (2 RBI, 2R), and Sebastian Gomez (3R) each added three hits while John Watson finished with a pair of sacrifice at bats and scored four runs. Ronald Mort earned his second win while allowing six hits, and four runs while striking out three in the final five innings.  

Game 2: Hilbert 17, Pitt-Greensburg 5
The Hawks were on fire at the plate collecting 17 hits, three doubles, and two home runs with 16 RBI, nine walks and only five strike outs, while also picking up four stolen bases. Patrick Whelan, with his two home runs, knocked in five runs off a team-best five hits (5-5). Duffek finished with three hits (1D), one run and four RBI and Evans (3R, 2 SB, 5BB) earned one of Hilbert's three doubles. Brennen Hediger faced 35 batters, allowed nine hits, three runs and struck out three through seven impressive innings. Brendan Walsh closed the series against eight batters while allowing two runs scored.

Hilbert advances to the Championship Round of the AMCC Tournament for the first time in program history. They will take on #1 Alfred State College at 1:00pm on Thursday, May 11.

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#3 Mount Aloysius College earned a 10-6 win in game one, but Penn State Altoona held on for a 12-11 victory in game two to stave off elimination and force a third matchup between the teams. Penn State Altoona won the rubber match of the best-of-three series as the number six seed Lions defeated number three seed Mount Aloysius College 10-4 on Sunday to advance to the Championship Round of the AMCC Baseball Tournament.

Game 1: Mount Aloysius 10, Penn State Altoona 6
The Lions dug themselves a hole, allowing Mount Aloysius to run up a 9-2 lead through seven innings en route to a four-run victory for the home team. The Mounties' win was keyed by a five-run seventh inning. Jonathan Rauch was 3-for-4 at the plate for Penn State Altoona with a run scored and a walk. Grayson McClain went 2-for-4 with three RBI, and Corey Chamberlain was 2-for-5 with a run scored. Eli Wiles got the nod as the game-one starting pitcher and took the loss, tossing 6 1/3 innings and yielding five runs. Mack Meengs pitched 2/3 inning in relief, and Sean Wing threw one inning.

Game 2: Penn State Altoona 12, Mount Aloysius College 11
Penn State Altoona used a big performance at the plate to get past Mount Aloysius in game two, avoiding elimination and forcing a third game of the series. The Lions totaled 22 hits as a team, tying for the seventh-most hits in a game in program history. Penn State Altoona led 9-0 through four-and-a-half innings, then held on to eke out a one-run victory. Six different Lion batters finished with a multi-hit game, including three players who finished with four hits apiece. Jake Hillard and Chamberlain both went 4-for-6 with an RBI and a run scored, while Garrett Alauzen was 4-for-6 with a triple, a double, three RBI, and three runs scored. Meanwhile, Tyreke Green was 3-for-5 with a double and a run scored. Timothy Richard finished 2-for-3 with two RBI, a run scored, and a walk, and Rauch went 2-for-6 with two runs scored and an RBI. On the mound, Sam Homan got the start and recorded his sixth win of the season. In 6 1/3 innings pitched, the left-hander allowed five runs while striking out five batters. Cameron Dubbs and Alex Kitko each pitched 1 1/3 innings in relief, with Kitko registering his fourth save of the spring.

Game 3: Penn State Altoona 10, Mount Aloysius College 4 
With the win, Penn State Altoona advanced in the AMCC Tournament, while Mount Aloysius is eliminated. The Lions continue to the AMCC championship series, hosted by number one seed Alfred State College this Thursday, May 11 through Saturday, May 13. The Lions will be matched up against number two seed Penn State Behrend on Thursday at 4 p.m. for their first game of the championship rounds.

The Lions earned a convincing win in game three on Sunday, carrying over their offensive momentum that was established in game two yesterday. Penn State Altoona produced 10 runs on 11 hits while limiting Mount Aloysius' scoring opportunities throughout the day.

Richard Carey went 2-for-4 at the plate for the Lions with his second home run of the season, three runs batted in, two runs scored, and a walk. Grant Barberich was 3-for-3 with a double, an RBI, a run scored, and a walk. Corey Chamberlain recorded two RBI. Tristin Lockett started on the mound and finished with a no decision, going 1 1/3 innings. Cameron Dubbs entered in relief and tossed three scoreless frames to notch his first win of the season. Sean Wing added 3 2/3 innings out of the bullpen, recording six strikeouts while allowing just one earned run. Mack Meengs finished the game in the ninth inning.

The Lions will be matched up against number two seed Penn State Behrend on Thursday at 4 p.m. for their first game of the championship round.