AUBURNDALE, Fla. – The Penn State Altoona baseball team started its annual trip to compete in the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational on Saturday afternoon at Lake Myrtle Park, where the Lions faced off against SUNY Polytechnic Institute.

SUNY Poly (1-2) held on for a 4-3 victory in game one, before the Lions (4-2) responded in game two with a 4-1 win.

Game One: SUNY Poly 4, Penn State Altoona 3

Penn State Altoona scored the game's first run, but SUNY Poly scored the next four to grab a three-run lead. The Lions cut their deficit to one in the fourth inning, but the Wildcats managed to hang on for a tight, one-run victory.

Jimmy Mento (Gates County, NC/Gates County) was 2-for-3 with a double, and Corey Chamberlain (Claysburg, PA/Claysburg-Kimmel) went 2-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI. Brian Chelli (West Hartford, CT/Hall) hit his first collegiate home run.

Eric Seick (Mount Laurel, NJ/Camden Catholic) made the start on the mound, tossed a complete game, and took the loss. The right-hander yielded three earned runs over six innings while striking out two batters.

Penn State Altoona drew first blood in the top of the first, when Jonathan Rauch (Pittsburgh, PA/Baldwin) doubled to left center with two outs and scored on Chamberlain's RBI single to right.

SUNY Poly struck back with a pair of runs in the bottom of the first to jump into the lead. Derek Menechino's RBI single to left knotted the score, and he later scored on a double play to give the Wildcats a 2-1 advantage. SUNY Poly tacked two more runs on to their total in the third. Quinn Hill drove in one run with his double to center, and Ryan Pelton's RBI single into left to increase the Wildcats' lead to 4-1.

Penn State Altoona trimmed its deficit to two in the top of the fourth. Chamberlain started the frame with a base hit to left, and one out later, Chelli hit a two-run homer to right to get the Lions back to within one, 4-3.

Penn State Altoona threatened in the top of the seventh, but SUNY Poly held on for the win. Mento led off with a double, Benjamin Ettien (Media, PA/Penncrest) followed with a walk, and Jake Hillard's (State College, PA/State College) infield single later loaded the bases with one out. But the Wildcats got a line out and strikeout to escape the jam, dealing Penn State Altoona the game-one loss.

Game Two: Penn State Altoona 4, SUNY Poly 1

The Lions salvaged a doubleheader split with a win in game two, powered by a strong pitching performance.

Eli Wiles (Kittanning, PA/Armstrong) got the start at pitcher and tossed a complete game to record his second win of the season. In seven innings, the righty held SUNY Poly to just four hits, two walks, and one run while striking out eight Wildcat batters.

At the plate, Chamberlain was 2-for-3 with a double and three RBI. Rauch was 2-for-2 with an RBI and a run scored, and Tyreke Green (Altoona, PA/Altoona) went 2-for-3 with a run scored.

SUNY Poly scored first, when a Luke Landis sacrifice fly to center in the top of the first plated a run for the Wildcats.

Penn State Altoona answered quickly, however. Zach Ingold (Pittsburgh, PA/Baldwin) started the bottom of the first with a walk, and he later scored on Chamberlain's RBI single through the left side of the infield.

The 1-1 score stood until the bottom of the fifth, when Penn State Altoona got three runs across to seize the lead. Fred Guarino IV (Waynesboro, PA/Waynesboro) led off with a base hit, and Green's single later put runners at the corners with two outs. After that, Rauch delivered an RBI single up the middle to put the Lions in front, and Chamberlain's two-run double to left gave Penn State Altoona a 4-1 advantage.

Wiles and the Lions limited SUNY Poly to just one base runner the rest of the way, and Penn State Altoona closed out a win in game two.

Penn State Altoona baseball continues its week at RussMatt with another doubleheader tomorrow, Sunday, March 9, at Lake Myrtle Park. The Lions will take on Utica University in a pair of seven-inning games, with first pitch of game one set for 10:15 a.m.