HAMBURG, Ny. - Making his first start of the 2009 season, Penn State Altoona pitcher Jesse Cox (Huntingdon, PA/Huntingdon) threw a three-hitter in the opening game of an Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference doubleheader against Hilbert as the Lions earned a 3-1 win.  The Hawks rallied and won the nightcap 5-4.

Cox allowed just one earned run in the bottom of the fourth inning and scatterd three hits while striking out six and walking just one batter.  Offensively, the Lions managed only seven hits but manufactured just enough runs to squeeze out the victory.

Jimmy Baum (Shermansdale, PA/West Perry) continued his hot start by leading off the game with a solo home run. 

The game remained tied at 1-1 entering the sixth inning when Grady Luzier (Forest,  PA/West Branch) scored an unearned run via a Hilbert error.  The Lions tacked on an insurance score in the seventh when Baum drove in Bobby Reece (Levittown, PA/Neshaminy) with a single.

In game two, the Lions out-hit the Hawks 11-9 and held a comfortable 4-0 cushion after 5 1/2 innings.  But Hilbert plated three runs in the bottom of the sixth and two more in the seventh to steal the win.

Penn State Altoona committed six errors as all five Hawk runs were unearned.  Starting pitcher Gerard Vath (Milford, PA/Delaware Valley) cruised through the first five innings but was lifted after two errors and a two-run double in the sixth.

In the seventh, two more Lion miscues put the winning runs on base, and Hilbert got a two-run walk-off single to send Penn State Altoona to its second AMCC loss in six outings. 

Luzier hit a single in the third inning that scored Baum and RJ Barnard (Hollidaysburg, PA/Hollidaysburg).  Reece smacked an RBI single in the fourth, making the score 3-0, before a Hilbert error allowed the Lions their fourth run.

Jimmy Byers (Chambersburg, PA/Chambersburg), Jim Bennett (Linden, PA/Williamsport), and Ryan Pollicino (Mount Union, PA/Mount Union) each had two hits apiece in the loss.

Both teams left 10 runners on base.  Penn State Altoona is now 12-8 overall and 4-2 in the league.  The Lions host Frostburg State this Tuesday, March 31, at 1:00 PM.