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After two extra-inning wins over State College in the regular season, Altoona looked to go 3-0 against the Little Lions in the District 6 Class 6A semifinals Thursday at Mansion Park.
It was not to be for the Mountain Lions, however.
State College plated four runs in the first two innings and held Altoona off the rest of the way for a 7-3 win.
State College advanced to play Mifflin County in the district championship game next week. Altoona's season ends at 11-10.
After giving up a run in the first, Altoona's hard-throwing lefty Tanner Stroup left the game with a shoulder problem after giving up a leadoff double in the second. Logan Meyers relieved, but the Little Lions early momentum continued with three more runs for an early 4-0 lead.
"We were playing from behind from the first inning on," Altoona coach Turtle Smith said. "Tanner had some shoulder discomfort. Couldn't continue. Bottom line, though, is State College played better than us. They hit the ball. They were aggressive on the base paths. They deserved to win."
Jake Hall and Jensen Chesnut led State College with two hits apiece and combined to steal five bases. Hall doubled, scored twice and swiped three bags while Chesnut tripled, drove in two and stole two bases.
The Little Lions tacked on single runs in the third, fifth and seventh, giving Sam Janik and Gino Pighetti more than enough run support.
Janik went 4 1/3 innings, giving up three runs and striking out seven. Pighetti relieved in the fifth with runners on first and second. He got out of that jam and shut out the Mountain Lions the rest of the way.
"Both games during the season were 8-inning games. We knew it'd be another tough game, but we were confident we could win," State College coach David Williams said. "In these moments, it's time for seniors to leave their legacy. It was a whole team effort, but Sam's answered the bell for us all season. Gino came in and was rock-solid in relief. This is their moment as seniors."
Altoona had runners on throughout but couldn't capitalize, leaving 10 men on base.
"The third, fourth and fifth innings we left two men on then we left 'em loaded in the seventh," Smith said. "It wasn't for lack of heart or lack of effort. We stayed in the game, but they kept us a comfortable distance. We couldn't get that big hit to make it a one or two run game."
Caleb Sanders went 2-for-3 with two RBIs to lead Altoona. Stroup, who stayed in the game and played first base, had a pair of doubles, scoring once and driving in one.
STATE COLLEGE (7): Rhoades ss 411, Chesnut lf 312, Hall cf 422, Janik p 000, Pighetti p 000, Harter dh 301, Ingold pr 000, Shannon 3b 301, Belinc 2b 411, Powers 1b 300, Machtinger c 211, Mazer ph 101, Hardinson pr 000. Totals -- 30 7 11.
ALTOONA (3): LaRocco cf 400, Freiwald 2b 400, Stroup p-1b 412, McAllister 3b-rf-p 201, Smearman ss 411, Ca. Sanders 1b-3b 302, Sankey lf 100, Berkheimer lf 301, Albright rf 000, Co. Sanders 200. Totals -- 30 3 8.
SCORE BY INNINGS
State College 131 010 1 -- 7 11 1
Altoona 011 010 0 -- 3 8 2
E--Rhoades, Smearman, Co. Sanders. 2B--Belinc, Hall, Rhoades, Stroup 2, McAllister. 3B--Chesnut. RBI--Chesnut 2, Shannon, Powell, Stroup, Ca. Sanders 2.
PITCHING
State College: Janik (W) 4.1 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 SO. Pighetti (SV) 2.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO.
Altoona: Stroup (L) 1+ IP, 2 H, 2R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO. Meyers 5.0 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO. McAllister 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO.
Records: State College (10-10); Altoona (11-10).
Umpires: Matt Cursio, Bill Wolf, Jay Negri.