ALTOONA, Pa. - Penn State Altoona freshman Cord Heine (Malvern, PA/Mercersburg) and sophomore Grady Luzier (Forest, PA/West Branch) were selected to the Eastern College Athletic Conference South Region All-Star Baseball Team, the ECAC announced Wednesday.

Heine received First Team honors as an outfielder and also was the ECAC South Newcomer of the Year.  The UMass transfer set a new single-season record for home runs with 16, which also led the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference, and batted .326.  He earned the same accolades -- First Team and Newcomer of the Year -- from the AMCC.

Luzier, who led the AMCC in five statistical categories including hits (78), runs (66), RBI (61), doubles (18), and total bases (118), was a Second Team ECAC All-Star at first base.  He led the Lions and finished third in the league in batting average at an impressive .463 clip.  Luzier was a First Team All-AMCC honoree.

To view the entire ECAC South Region Baseball All-Star Team, visit the ECAC website at www.ecacsports.com.

PITTSBURGH, Pa. - The Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference released the year-end Presidents Cup standings as well as the spring All-Sportsmanship Team and All-Academic Team Thursday afternoon.

Penn State Altoona accumulated 83 points during the 2008-2009 sports year and finished third in the final Presidents Cup standings.  Penn State Behrend, which tallied 101.5 points, won its eighth cup in nine years, and Frostburg State finished just ahead of Altoona with 86 points.

The Cup is awarded annually to the school with the overall best sports program based on regular season finish or season-ending tournament or meet results, as in the case of tennis, golf, swimming and diving, and cross country.

Baseball player Paul Keith (Smithmill, PA/Moshannon Valley), softball player Chelsey Rhodes (Williamsburg, PA/Williamsburg), and men's tennis player Kyle Yerty (Roaring Spring, PA/Central) were the Penn State Altoona representatives on the spring AMCC All-Sportsmanship Team.

The student-athletes on the All-Sportsmanship Team are selected by their teammates and must consistently demonstrate a high level of ethical conduct, respect, and fair play in both practice and competition, among other things.

Keith and Olivia Hallahan (Huntingdon, PA/Huntingdon) were the Penn State Altoona male and female selections to the AMCC All-Academic Team.  Keith was the Lions' top pitcher and boasted a GPA of better than 3.7 while Hallahan, a basketball and volleyball player at Altoona, has made numerous appearances on the Dean's List and Academic All-Conference Team.

To view the entire AMCC Presidents Cup standings as well as the All-Sportsmanship and All-Academic Teams, visit the AMCC website at www.amcconf.org.

KINGSTON, Pa. - The best season in program history ended with a championship for the Penn State Altoona baseball team, which won a pair of nine-inning games Friday against Neumann College and Wesley College to capture its first Eastern College Athletic Conference South Region Championship in school history.  The Lions narrowly escaped Neumann, 5-4, then overcame an early deficit to explode past Wesley, 22-14.

In the opener, senior pitcher Paul Keith (Smithmill, PA/Moshannon Valley) closed his career in dominating fashion, hurling 151 pitches during a complete-game victory over the Knights.  Keith, who finished the year 9-1, scattered 10 hits and struck out 13 Neumann hitters on the afternoon.

Altoona cracked the scoreboard early when Jim Byers (Chambersburg, PA/Chambersburg) stepped up to the plate with the based loaded and stroked a three-run double down the left field line. 

The Knights would answer with two runs in the second and another in the third to tie the game at 3-3.  The Lions retook the lead in the bottom of the fifth when tournament Most Outstanding Player Grady Luzier (Forest, PA/West Branch) hammered a double that scored Jimmy Baum (Shermansdale, PA/West Perry).

Neumann again knotted the scored with a run on three hits in the top of the seventh before it was Luzier to the rescue in the bottom of the frame.  The sophomore slapped a one-out single to left field that scored RJ Barnard (Hollidaysburg, PA/Hollidaysburg), who doubled a batter earlier, and gave Penn State Altoona the lead for good.

Luzier was a perfect 4-for-4 in the game, while Baum and John Schall (Snow Shoe, PA/Bald Eagle) each had two hits apiece.

With the victory, the second-seeded Lions advanced to meet fifth seed Wesley for the tournament title.  Wesley qualified to Friday's final four by beating Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference member Frostburg State on Wednesday and knocked off top seed and host Wilkes University, 10-9, in Friday's morning game.

In the championship, both Altoona and Wesley combined to crack 32 hits and use eight different pitchers.  The Lions trailed 10-3 entering the bottom of the fourth inning before a crucial 11-run frame that featured seven hits including a three-run home run by Barnard and two RBI from Byers.

Altoona led 14-10 but watched Wesley answer with two runs in both the fifth and sixth innings to tie the slugfest at 14-14.  It took another monster inning from Penn State Altoona, this time a seven-run seventh inning, to widen the margin and ensure a victory. 

Schall blasted a two-run home run in the decisive seventh frame, and Luzier connected on a two-RBI single.  Kevin Obermeier (York, PA/York Catholic) entered as a relief pitcher for the Lions in the fifth and earned the win by hurling 4 1/3 innings and allowing just two hits and two runs.

Barnard finished the championship game 4-for-6 with four RBI and three runs scored.  Luzier was equally impressive, going 3-for-4 with five runs scored and four more driven in.  Five other players had at least two hits in the victory.

Penn State Altoona concluded its 2009 season at 32-17 overall, a full 12 wins better than the previous single-season record of 20.  The only seniors on this year's team were Keith and Barnard.

PITTSBURGH, Pa. - Freshman outfielder Cord Heine (Malvern, PA/Mercersburg), who shattered the Penn State Altoona single-season home run record and led the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference in home runs, RBI, and total bases, was one of four Lion baseball players to be named to the AMCC All-Conference Team, the league office announced Tuesday.

Heine was named to the first team and also garnered AMCC Newcomer of the Year honors after batting .331 and smacking 16 long balls.  He led the team and conference with 59 RBI and 111 total bases.

Sophomore first baseman Grady Luzier (Forest, PA/West Branch) joined Heine on the first team and was a strong candidate for AMCC Player of the Year.  Luzier batted a team-best .423, which also ranked fourth in the league, and led the conference in hits (71), doubles (17), and runs scored (60).

For the second straight year, senior pitcher Paul Keith (Smithmill, PA/Moshannon Valley) collected second team all-conference honors after sporting an 8-1 record and breaking the Penn State Altoona single-season wins record.  His 4.14 ERA was tops on the team, and Keith pitched six complete games and struck out 60 batters in just over 71 innings of work.

Freshman Jimmy Baum (Shermansdale, PA/West Perry), who became one of the most dangerous leadoff hitters in the league, was rewarded with honorable mention all-AMCC recognition.  Baum hit .385, smacked 65 hits, scored 48 runs, and led the team with three triples.  The center fielder also successfully stole eight bases in nine attempts.

Penn State Behrend shortstop Josh Fyffe was named AMCC Player of the Year, and Mount Aloysius coach Kevin Kime took home conference Coach of the Year honors.  Behrend pitcher David Koerbel won his second straight AMCC Pitcher of the Year award.

To view the entire 2009 AMCC Baseball All-Conference Team, visit the AMCC website at www.amcconf.org

ALTOONA, Pa. - For the first time in program history, the Penn State Altoona baseball team will participate in the Eastern College Athletic Conference South Region Tournament and play a semifinal game at 12:00 PM on May 15, the ECAC announced Monday when it released the South Region bracket.

Head coach Joe Piotti's squad, which lost in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Championship game and owns a school-best 30-17 record, will await the winner of Wednesday's opening round contest between sixth-seeded Neumann College and third-seeded Delaware Valley College.

Penn State Altoona is the number two seed in the six-team South Region and will travel to host Wilkes University for potentially two games.  Wilkes is the top seed while AMCC member Frostburg State is the four seed and will host fifth-seeded Wesley College in the other first round match-up on Wednesday.

On Friday, Wilkes will meet the Frostburg/Wesley winner at 9:00 AM and Altoona will meet the Neumann/Delaware Valley winner at noon.  The championship game between the two winners will follow that at 3:00 PM.

All games on Friday will be played at Artillery Park, located behind the Kingston Armory in Kingston, PA.  Ticket prices are $4 for adults and $2 for students.