Mirror photo by Michael Boytim Altoona's Joseph Speece (right) is congratulated by teammate Eric McAllister after scoring a run.

STATE COLLEGE — Altoona has the potential to have a special high school baseball season this year, but Monday afternoon during a cold, windy game against rival State College, the Mountain Lions proved there’s a thin line between winning and losing.

And a lot of it has to do with finding the strike zone.

Altoona took advantage of some timely hitting and four walks by State College starter Cody Norman to take a six-run lead through the first two innings, but the Mountain Lions gave it all back plus one when their pitchers struggled to get the ball across the plate in a 7-6 setback.

“We can’t walk eight guys in the third and fourth inning,” Altoona coach Tom Smith said. “That was probably the most disappointing part where we walked eight guys in those innings. You’re not going to win many games if you walk eight guys and hit a guy over two innings, and it cost us today.”

Of the seven runs State College scored, five of those batters who eventually scored reached base by a walk and one other reached after being hit by a pitch.

All of a sudden, a team that looked like it was about to improve to 2-0 and make a statement against its top rival was on the losing end. It begs the question whether Altoona’s season will turn out more like the team that played the first two innings or the team that played the final five.

“We’re probably somewhere in between,” Smith said. “In order for us to be successful against any team, you have to be able to throw strikes. You have a six-run lead, and just too many walks. We also didn’t add on. Their second pitcher came in there and totally dominated us to the point that we struggled to get a baserunner against him.”

Aaron Smearman led off the top of the first inning with a walk and scored on Dante LaRocco’s double. LaRocco, a junior, went to third on an error and scored on a wild pitch to put Altoona ahead 2-0 after an inning.

LaRocco suffered a serious injury prior to basketball season but has worked his way back in time for baseball season, a sport in which he had an excellent year as a sophomore.

“It feels great to be back out here with my teammates,” LaRocco said. “There’s no better feeling than being out here with them. We want to be as good as we can be and win as many games as we can.”

LaRocco was part of the action in the second inning as well.

Noah Staines drew a walk to lead off the inning and was erased on a fielder’s choice. Will Sankey and Smearman walked with two outs to load the bases, and LaRocco drove home a run on an infield single.

Junior Tanner Stroup, a West Virginia commit, emptied the bases with a three-run double that made it 6-0 in favor of Altoona.

But State College brought in relief pitcher Jude Scavone, and the momentum started to shift toward the Little Lions. Scavone stranded Stroup and allowed just one hit — a Nick Kraft single — over the next three innings.

“I don’t know if we had a hit after the second inning to be honest,” Smith said. “If we did, we might have had one.”

State College scored twice in the bottom of the third, first on a sacrifice fly by Jack Coleman and then on a bases-loaded walk by Austin Herncane that ended starter Smearman’s day on the mound.

Four of the first five batters for the Little Lions reached on walks to begin the bottom of the fourth inning, and all four scored. The big blow came from Ryden Walker, who had a two-run single and eventually scored the go-ahead run on an error the the bases loaded and two outs.

“I’m proud of the boys, because it communicated to me here in our first game the type of team we have,” State College coach David Williams said. “We have been preaching the Philadelphia Eagles quote that you can’t be great without the greatness of others, and obviously they are receiving that message. They are supporting each other and working hard. They have each other’s backs. That’s the type of team we have, and we’re going to need that to get through our Mid-Penn schedule.”

Altoona managed just one baserunner against State College closer Sebastian Rhoades, who pitched the final two innings to earn the save.

“This is Sebastian’s third year in varsity,” Williams said. “He’s been playing at a high level since his 10th-grade year. I have all the trust in him. Jude came in and kept their offense at bay to help us get back into the game, and Sebastain came in and threw at a high level. I’m really proud of our boys.”

Altoona’s game played out almost the opposite as its first when it scored five runs late to rally for a 7-4 victory.

“It’s the second game of the year,” Smith said. “It’s very early, but there’s no freebies in this league. We need to play a complete game. That’s what we’re looking for. It’s the second game in. You take the good and bad and try to increase the good and minimize the bad, but we need to play a complete game. It’s the only way we’re going to be successful.”

A year ago, Altoona won both regular season games against State College and lost against the Little Lions in the District 6 playoffs. The Mountain Lions have confidence they can turn that around this season.

“We’re definitely more like the team that started the game,” LaRocco said. “We got a little comfortable, but I’m not worried about it. We’ll be back.”

ALTOONA (6): Smearman p-ss 120, LaRocco 3b 422, Stroup cf 401, McAllister ss-rf 300, Kraft c 401, Baer cr 000, McConnell rf-p 000, Glasgow p 000, Staines dh 200, Speece 1b 310, Sankey lf 110, Albright 2b 300. Totals — 25-6-4.

STATE COLLEGE (7): Rhoades ss-p 311, Hall cf 220, Moriarta 3b 311, Williams 3b 000, Norman p 000, Scavone p 000, Ro. Walker ss 000, Ry. Walker 2b 311, Harter rf 100, Herncane rf 101, Powers 1b 402, Bierly c 310, Powell lf 211. Totals — 25-7-7.

SCORE BY INNINGS

Altoona 240 000 0–6 4 1

State College 002 500 X–7 7 1

E–Rhoades, Smearman. 2B–LaRocco, Stroup. RBI–Stroup 3, LaRocco 2, Walker 2, Harter, Coleman, Moriarta.

PITCHING

Altoona: Smearman–2 2/3IP, 3H, 1K, 3BB, 1HBP, 2R, 2ER, 56 pitches; Glasgow–2/3IP, 0H, 0K, 4BB, 4R, 4ER, 28 pitches; McConnell (L)–2 2/3IP, 4H, 5K, 1BB, 1R, 0ER, 52 pitches.

State College: Norman–1 2/3IP, 3H, 0K, 4BB, 6R, 6ER, 63 pitches; Scavone (W)–3 1/3IP, 1H, 1K, 1BB, 1HBP, 0R, 0ER, 45 pitches; Rhoades (S)–2IP, 0H, 1K, 1BB, 0R, 0ER, 24 pitches.

Records: Altoona (1-1); State College (1-0).