(ALTOONA, PA:)  The Penn State Altoona and Juniata College baseball teams played a pair of barnburners Monday afternoon at Blair County Ballpark with each team earning a win.  The Lions scored two in the bottom of the seventh to take the opener 5-4 before the Eagles jumped ahead early and held on for the 8-7 victory in game two. 

Altoona native Tyler Stiffler (Altoona, PA/Altoona) was the hero in game one, smacking the game-winning single in the bottom of the seventh that plated Grady Luzier (Forest, PA/West Branch).  Juniata held a 4-3 lead entering the final inning and looked to have the game in hand after getting the first two outs.  But Lion catcher Tony Petulla (Osceola Mills, PA/Philipsburg) walked and scored on a Luzier RBI double to tie the game before Stiffler's base hit to center field completed the rally.

Penn State Altoona leadoff hitter RJ Barnard (Hollidaysburg, PA/Hollidaysburg) began the game with a triple and scored on a Rob Traister (Voorhees, NJ/Bishop Eustace) groundout.  Petulla walked and eventually scored on a Chris Dixon (Camp Hill, PA/Cedar Cliff) RBI double to give the Lions an early 2-0 lead.

The Eagles left 10 runners on base and had ample opportunities to generate runs despite finishing the game with only five hits.  In the top of the third inning, Juniata tallied two unearned runs without notching a single hit, using four walks and a costly error by Stiffler to even the game at 2-2.

Both teams picked up a run in the fifth inning, and Juniata took the lead thanks to a pair of Lion errors in the sixth that resulted in an unearned run.  Along with the three errors in the game, Altoona also had three base runners picked off, one of which happened at second base for the second out of the seventh inning.

Eight of the nine Penn State Altoona starters had at least one hit.  Petulla finished 2-2 at the plate with three runs scored and a pair of walks.  Luzier and Stiffler also belted two hits apiece.  Juniata third baseman Steve Wilk collected a pair of hits for the Eagles and also drove in two runs.

Eagles' starting pitcher Brian Markovich took the loss after hurling 6 and 2/3 innings and allowing 11 hits.  Altoona starter Zach Darling got the complete game win, surrendering five hits but walking six Eagle batters.

Juniata put a four-spot on the board in the first inning of game two, touching up Lion starter Tyler Elbin (Warfordsburg, PA/Southern Fulton) for four runs and three hits including a two-run home run by Dane Ott.

Altoona answered in its half of the second inning, banging out three straight singles before a walk and error allowed three runs to score.  With the lead down to 4-3, the Eagles extended their advantage back to four by plating three in the third inning.  This time, Ott drilled a two-RBI double to center field, then scored on an Andrew Kriss single to make the score 7-3.

Freshman Ryan Pollicino (Mount Union, PA/Mount Union) roped a three-run home run that scored Luzier and Dixon in the bottom of the third to bring the Lions within a run, 7-6.  The Eagles picked up an insurance run in the fourth when Adam Spadafora scored from third on a wild pitch by Lion reliever Brenton Park (Mount Union, PA/Mount Union).

Petulla hit an RBI single in the sixth, scoring Barnard and moving Traister to second with no outs.  But Luzier struck out, and Traister was doubled up at second base on a Dixon fly out to left field to end the threat and keep the score 8-7 in favor of Juniata.

Marty Hauck picked up the victory for the Eagles, hurling four innings and allowing six runs, three earned, on six hits.  John Love pitched the final three innings to earn the save.  Elbin took the loss for the Lions, surrendering five hits and eight earned runs while walking five.  Park pitched the remaining four innings of scoreless baseball, giving up just three hits.

Ott and Spadafora finished with three and two hits, respectively, for the Eagles.  Petulla, Stiffler, and Pollicino racked up two hits apiece for the Lions.

With the split, Altoona moved to 13-17 overall, and Juniata got to 18-9.  The Lions host La Roche tomorrow at 1:00 PM at the Ivyside Athletic Field while the Eagles travel to Scranton for a twin bill on Saturday, April 19.

CONTACT:        Penn State Altoona Sports Information
                           Steve Crider  --  SID
                           814-949-5173
                           sac310@psu.edu