ALTOONA, Pa. - It took all three games and an 11-run fifth inning in the finale for the Penn State Altoona baseball team, which got huge offensive outputs from Jim Byers (Chambersburg, PA/Chambersburg), Bobby Reece(Levittown, PA/Neshaminy) and Grady Luzier (Forest, PA/West Branch) en route to a 2-1 series win in the opening round of the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference playoffs Saturday at Stewart Field.

Bradford jumped out to a 9-0 lead in game one before holding on for a 10-7 win.  The Lions used a pitching gem from Paul Keith (Smithmill, PA/Moshannon Valley) to narrowly win game two, 3-1, and cracked 19 hits in a 16-8 series clincher.

The visiting Panthers jumped all over Lion starter Tom Rafetto (Malvern, PA/Great Valley) in game one, scoring four runs in the first and adding five in the second.  Rafetto was pulled in favor of Mike Myers (Boiling Springs, PA/Boiling Springs), who went 5 2/3 innings of relief and allowed just one run.

Altoona chipped away at the deficit and creeped to within 9-3 after three full innings.  Bradford extended the lead by scoring a run in the fourth and would watch the advantage dwindle further when the hosts got four runs in the sixth inning.  Byers smacked one of his two home runs in the game, and Reece stroked a two-run double in the frame.

UPB out-hit Altoona 14-10 as Luke Streich earned the victory.  Byers finished with three hits and Luzier and Jimmy Baum (Shermansdale, PA/West Perry) each had two base knocks.

Facing elimination, it was Keith to the rescue in game two as the Lion ace hurled a complete game and allowed three hits while striking out nine.  Both teams combined for only eight hits.

It was Bradford again that jumped out a quick 1-0 lead in the top of the second on a Justin Smith RBI single.  Altoona cracked the scoreboard in the fourth inning when Byers hit an RBI single and Reece walked which scored a run.

The Lions got an insurance run via a Panther error in the fifth, and Keith did the rest, setting a new single-season program record for wins with seven.  Luzier scored two of the three Altoona runs and had two of the team's five hits.

Game three turned out to be a classic slugfest with both squads combining for 31 hits.  Altoona held a 4-0 advantage after two innings thanks to Reece two-run double and RJ Barnard (Hollidaysburg, PA/Hollidaysburg) RBI base hit in the second.

Bradford responded with one in the third, two in the fourth, and a monstrous two-run home run in the fifth by Justin Bifano, giving the Panthers a 5-4 lead.

But the wheels fell off for the sixth-seeded visitors as it took three pitchers to make it through a disastrous fifth inning in which Penn State Altoona notched 11 runs and batted around the order.  A Luzier home run put the Lions back on top and Reece launched a grand slam in the frame.

Pitt-Bradford scored again in the top of the sixth and got two in the seventh but the damage was already done.  Seven of the nine Altoona starters had multiple hits, and Reece finished the game with six RBI.

On the mound, Gerard Vath (Milford, NJ/Delaware Valley) pitched six innings to earn the win, scattering nine hits and allowing five earned runs.  Byers, Luzier, Barnard, and John Schall (Snow Shoe, PA/Bald Eagle) each had three hits.

Penn State Altoona improved to 28-15 overall and will play in the AMCC final four beginning next Friday at Penn State Behrend.  The double elimination tournament pits the third-seeded Lions against second seed Frostburg State in the opening game at 9:00 AM.