Philipsburg-Osceola has had plenty of success on high school baseball fields over the last quarter century, but the first inning of Thursday’s first-round Altoona Curve Classic game against Altoona was not the Mounties’ best moment.

Starting pitcher Zach Yoder threw 46 pitches to get just two outs, and the Mountain Lions took advantage of control issues to score seven runs and take control in a 12-2 Altoona victory at PNG Field.

Conner Pike, who finished 3-for-3, and Nick Kraft led off the bottom of the first inning with singles before a hit by pitch and four walks opened the floodgates.

“We got two base hits, and the guys coming after that were patient and worked some walks,” Altoona coach Tom Smith said. “We took advantage of the fact they couldn’t throw strikes, and before you knew it, we were up big. It was very nice to see.”

Altoona improved to 3-2 this season and will play Huntingdon in the semifinals at 5:30 today.

“That was our fifth game, so we’re still trying to find ourselves,” Smith said. “We hope we improve as the season goes on, and I think the weather is finally going to break for everybody. The more you can be out on the practice field and hopefully playing some games, the better you will be. I like where we’re at. We just need to pitch and have our No. 3, No. 4 and No. 5 guys step up and throw strikes, and we’ll be OK.”

Altoona junior shortstop Eric McAllister continued his hot start to the season with a hit, a run scored and three RBIs, but it was Pike’s performance at the top of the lineup that Smith said sparked his team on Thursday.

“We totally set the tone,” Smith said. “He had two hits in his first two at bats, and then we needed to play some small ball with guys on base, and he laid down a bunt and got another hit out of a bunt. He’s got good speed. He’s a good guy to have at the top of the order, and he really set the tone for us.”

Philipsburg-Osceola got a run back in the second inning thanks to two walks and an RBI single by Ryan Kolbe. P-O added another with a Parker Lamb single and Archer Baughman double.

But another single by Pike set up a sacrifice fly by Tanner Stroup and a two-run single by McAllister to make it 10-2.

“The first inning kind of sunk us,” Philipsburg-Osceola coach Doug Sankey said. “Obviously Altoona is a really good team. We have to play our best to beat them anyway. To not really be competitive in that first inning put us behind early. I thought offensively, we stuck around and had some good at bats. The guys at the top of the order had some key hits for us, but we just got sunk in that first inning.”

Philipsburg-Osceola got its first two runners on base in the fifth, but Altoona relief pitcher Connor Waite retired the next three in order to escape the jam.

Lucas Gority and Stroup drew one-out walks for Altoona in the bottom of the fifth inning. Gority scored on a wild pitch, and Stroup came home on Waite’s sacrifice fly that ended the game after five innings.

The Mounties, which got two of their five hits from Baughman, fell to 3-2 and will play in the consolation round today against Central.

“We have been playing well,” Sankey said. “I was disappointed in the bottom of the order today, because they have been doing their job the last three games. But this was a tough pitcher we faced today. We’ll be OK. We’re not going to get too down about losing this one today.”

PHILIPSBURG-OSCEOLA (2): Lamb ss 311, Baughman 3b 302, White 1b 301, Yoder p 110, Matier c 300, DeSimone rf 200, Kolbe dh 201, Guenot 2b 100, Law lf 200, Rafferty p 000, Davis p 000. Totals — 20-2-5.

ALTOONA (12): C. Pike cf 323, Young ph 100, Kraft c 201, Gority cr-ph 020, Stroup lf 120, McAllister ss 211, Waite dh 210, Hainsey 3b 200, Staines 1b 300, McConnell rf 220, Webster rf 101, B. Pike 2b 020, Palladini 2b 100. Totals — 20-12-6.

SCORE BY INNINGS

Philipsburg-Osceola 011 00X X–2 5 2

Altoona 703 02X X–12 6 0

E–Guenot, White. 2B–Baughman. RBI–McAllister 3, Waite 2, Stroup, Hainsey, McConnell, C. Pike, White, Kolbe. WP–Baer. LP–Yoder. SO–Baer 1, Waite 1, Yoder 1, Rafferty 1. BB–Baer 4, Rafferty 4, Davis 1, Yoder 4.

Records: Philipsburg-Osceola (3-2); Altoona (3-2).

Umpires: Jim Cushion (HP); Shaun McCready (bases).