CRESSON, Pa. -- On Friday, the Mount Aloysius Baseball team opened their home schedule and started conference play, as they hosted Alfred State. The Pioneers (5-15, 0-2 AMCC) traveled down a day early due to the projected Saturday weather, but the Mounties (12-7, 2-0 AMCC) still earned victories in both ends of the doubleheader.

In Game One, the Mounties pitching was a key factor. Chris Hasse (Johnstown, Pa. / Westmont Hilltop) tossed the first four innings, before Anthony Maseto (Cherry Tree, Pa. / Harmony) pitched the final three innings to earn the win. They combined to allow just three hits and strike out ten total batters. Alfred State only scored one earned run, as a run scored on a passed ball and their other on a wild pitch.

John Griffith (Bryans Road, Md. / Henry E. Lackey) went 1-for-3 for the Mounties, driving in their first run of the game with an RBI-single and driving in their second run on a groundout. The second run tied the game at two, in the third inning. In the sixth inning, Cole Harkness (Hughesville, Md. / Saint Mary's Ryken), who went 2-for-2 prior, drove in a run on a sacrifice fly. The run proved to be the difference maker, as the Mounties kept the Pioneers scoreless to win Game One, 3-2.

Game Two saw the Mounties fall behind first, as the Pioneers scored twice in the top of the second inning. The visitors' lead did not last long though, as the Mounties opened the third inning with five runs before they made an out and ultimately scored six times in the third inning to grab the lead. Six of the first seven batters in the inning produced hits, with the seventh reaching on a walk.

The Mounties added another run in the fourth inning, growing their lead to 7-2, thanks to a Ryan Bushey (Latrobe, Pa. / Derry) RBI-double. In the sixth inning, the Pioneers scored once in the top half before the Mounties answered with two runs in the bottom, putting their lead at 9-3. Tyler Quade (Mechanicsville, Md. / Chopticon) doubled in a run and Griffith drove him in with an RBI-single.

Alfred State continued to make the game interesting, scoring once in the seventh inning and two in the eighth. The Pioneers' Tyler Korsky hit a two-run homer in the eighth, his second of the game, to make the score 9-6. While Quade drove in an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth, Alfred State scored twice in the ninth inning and left the bases loaded, making the Mountie bullpen work to get every out to win 10-6.

The Mounties used four pitchers in Game Two, with John Luke Bailey (New Kensington, Pa. / Valley Area) earning his first career save. The four Mounties combined to strand 14 Pioneer runners for the game.

Mount Aloysius is scheduled to play two non-conference games, after the Easter holiday, before welcoming conference-rival Penn State Behrend to Cresson, next Saturday. The Lions are 10-3 on the season, but have not played a conference game to this point.