PITTSBURGH, Pa. – La Roche baseball welcomed Penn State Altoona on Tuesday afternoon for an AMCC doubleheader, but were unable to get past the Lions in either of the two matchups.
GAME ONE: Penn State Altoona 6 La Roche 1
Altoona wasted no time getting on the board, scoring a run in the top of the first inning to take the 1-0 lead.
The Lions would tack on a pair of runs in the third inning, a single run in the fourth and two more in the fifth, building up a 6-0 lead.
The lone Redhawk run of the game scored in the bottom of the fifth inning, when Brandon Snyder scored on an Altoona error.
Jimmy Roe took the loss in the start, throwing three innings, allowing three runs, five hits and struck out two.
Izaak Ogrodowczyk tossed two innings of relief, allowing three runs (two earned), three hits and one walk, while Sam DiCicco added two hitless innings, striking out one.
Offensively, La Roche picked up five hits, with five batters combining for the collection.
GAME TWO: Penn State Altoona 13 La Roche 7
Altoona wasted no time putting game two in a precarious situation for the Redhawks, scoring seven runs in the top of the first inning, taking a commanding lead.
The Lions would add a run in both the second and third innings, making it a 9-0 game through three innings.
La Roche hit the scoreboard in the bottom of the fourth inning, when Caden Maffitt drove in Josh Dreyer with an RBI single and Snyder would bring home Tanner Schmitt with a sacrifice fly, making the score, 9-2.
Altoona would add another run in the top of the sixth inning, hitting 10 on the scoreboard with an RBI single.
The Redhawks battled in the bottom of the sixth, loading the bases and bringing home a pair of runs with back-to-back RBI walks.
The Lions were right back on the board in the top of the seventh, equaling La Roche's pair of runs to regain an eight-run, 12-4 lead, then added yet another in the eighth to go up 13-4.
Once again, in the bottom of the eighth, the Redhawks offense stayed alive, as Ricky Heyz drove in a run with a sacrifice fly, then DJ Loveland followed with a two RBI single to trim the deficit down to 13-7, but the scoring would stop there for the game.
Aaron Exler got the start, but lasted just 0.2 innings in the loss, allowing six runs (one earned), two hits and walked four.
Seven relievers pitched the final 8.1 innings, combining to allow seven runs (six earned), 10 hits, seven walks and struck out eight.
Offensively, La Roche picked up four hits, with four players combining for the total.
The Redhawks return to action Saturday, Apr. 5 when they travel to Hilbert. First pitch of the twin-bills is set for 1 p.m.