ALTOONA, Pa. - The Penn State Altoona baseball team earned two impressive non-league wins over Juniata College Friday afternoon at the Stewart Athletic Field and set a new program record for wins in a season in the process.  The Lions won the opener 8-1 and held on for a 10-8 victory in game two.

Altoona improved to 22-12 overall and surpassed the previous mark of 20 victories set by the 2000 Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Championship team.

Freshman Mike Myers (Boiling Springs, PA/Boiling Springs) was fantastic in the opener, hurling a complete game four-hitter and striking out seven Eagle batters.

Offensively, the Lions out-hit Juniata 13-4 and five players with multiple hits including RJ Barnard (Hollidaysburg, PA/Hollidaysburg), who went 3 for 4 with three runs scored.  Jimmy Baum (Shermansdale, PA/West Perry), Grady Luzier (Forest, PA/West Branch), John Schall (Snow Shoe, PA/Bald Eagle), and Jim Bennett (Linden, PA/Williamsport) each had two hits apiece, and Luzier drove in three runs.

Altoona got one run in both the second and third innings before manufacturing three runs in both the fifth and sixth frames.  In both the fifth and sixth, the Lions cracked four hits that produced the three scores.

In game two, both teams got off to hot offensive starts including Juniata, which scored in each of the first four innings.  Altoona tacked up seven runs after two full innings and led 7-2 entering the top of the third.

The Eagles responded with three in the third and two more in the fourth, tying the game at 7-7.  It would stay that way until the bottom of the sixth when the Lions cracked four consecutive hits, eventually scoring three runs and taking a 10-7 lead into the seventh.

Gerard Vath (Milford, NJ/Delaware Valley) was inserted into the game in relief of Kevin Obermeier (York, PA/York Catholic), who got the win by throwing three scoreless innings of relief.  Vath began the seventh by allowing two consecutive doubles and a walk but got Eagle shortstop Andrew Kriss to ground into a game-ending 6-4-3 double play.

Vath earned the save for the Lions, which smacked 10 hits in the contest.  Baum, Luzier, Cord Heine (Malvern, PA/Mercersburg), and Jim Byers (Chambersburg, PA/Chambersburg) each had two hits.  Barnard had another hit and scored two runs.

All four of Altoona's runs in the second inning were unearned thanks to three Juniata errors.

Penn State Altoona will conclude AMCC play tomorrow by hosting Mount Aloysius at 11:00 AM.  If the Lions win at least one of the two games, they will earn the number three seed in the upcoming conference playoffs.