HARRISONBURG, Va. – Penn State Altoona baseball started its 2020 season on Sunday afternoon, when the Lions suffered a pair of losses in a doubleheader at non-conference opponent Eastern Mennonite University.

Penn State Altoona (0-2) lost game one 7-1, then dropped the nightcap 18-2 to Eastern Mennonite (6-4).

"Very disappointed in the performance today. We've worked our tails off the past month, and to come out and play so poorly is disappointing," said Penn State Altoona head coach RJ Barnard. "EMU is 10 games deep already, so we knew it would be a tough challenge, but we didn't expect to get whooped up on both games."

Game One: Eastern Mennonite 7, Penn State Altoona 1

The Lions and Royals were locked in a close game until the home team broke it open with a five-run bottom of the sixth inning.

Hunter Breon (Boiling Springs, PA/Boiling Springs), Chase Clouser (Dublin, OH/Dublin Jerome), Catcher Cumming (Altoona, PA/Altoona), and Jared Ennis (Richboro, PA/Council Rock South) each had a hit for the Lions, with Clouser's being a double.

Clayton Hain (Schaefferstown, PA/Eastern Lebanon County) got the start on the mound, pitching four innings and surrendering a pair of runs to take the loss. Alex Kitko (Houtzdale, PA/Moshannon Valley) tossed two innings in relief.

Eastern Mennonite scored the game's first run in the bottom of the second, when Billy Quinn's fielder's choice scored John Judy from third.

Penn State Altoona tied the game in the top of the fourth when Peter Jacobs (Dix Hills, NY/Half Hollow Hills West) reached on a one-out walk, moved up to third on a pair of wild pitches, then scored on a throwing error.

But the Royals answered right away, reclaiming the lead in the bottom half of the inning on Corey Willis' fielder's choice that brought Brett Lindsay home.

Eastern Mennonite increased its lead to 7-1 in the sixth. Willis drew a bases-loaded walk to bring in one run, followed by Jordan Jones' two-run double to left and Jacob Merica's RBI single up the middle.

Game Two: Eastern Mennonite 18, Penn State Altoona 2

Penn State Altoona surrendered a pair of big innings to the Royals, while the Lions committed six errors in the loss.

Jacobs was 1-for-3 with a double and two RBI, and Timothy Richard (Douglassville, PA/Daniel Boone) also went 1-for-3 with a double. Cumming was 1-for-3 with a run scored, Clouser went 1-for-1 with a walk, and Brodie Harbaugh (New Paris, PA/Chestnut Ridge) batted 1-for-2 with a run scored.

Zane Leister (Middleburg, PA/Midd-West) started at pitcher and threw two innings, yielding four earned runs. Dylan Bates (Towanda, PA/Towanda) followed by pitching 2/3 inning with two strikeouts and no earned runs, and Pete Manger (Lindenhurst, NY/Lindenhurst) pitched 1 1/3 innings with no earned runs and a pair of strikeouts. Austin Miller (Orbisonia, PA/Southern Huntingdon) tossed one inning, striking out one and giving up two earned runs. Tyler Manger (Lindenhurst, NY/Lindenhurst) pitched a scoreless inning with one strikeout.

Eastern Mennonite put two runs on the board in the bottom of the second. Blake Schaar doubled and scored on an error, and Robert Guenther followed with a solo home run.

The Royals proceeded to scored nine runs in the third, one in the fourth, and six more in the fifth to stake out a commanding 18-0 lead.

The Lions got on the board in the top of the sixth when Harbaugh and Cumming reached on back-to-back singles, then scored one batter later on Jacobs' double to left.

Penn State Altoona baseball returns to Virginia next weekend, when the Lions will travel to face Bridgewater College in a doubleheader on Saturday, February 29. Game one is slated to start at 12:00 p.m.