WINTER HAVEN, Fla. – Senior Jack Vaccari went 5 for 5 on the plate, but the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) baseball team fell to Penn State Altoona, 8-5, on Tuesday morning at Chain of Lakes Park. With the win, the Nittany Lions improve to 1-6, while the Engineers drop to 2-2.

Richard Carey drove home a pair of unearned runs in the top of the second inning with a double down the right field line. Altoona then doubled its lead in the fourth inning, when third baseman Joey Brown drove a double to center, scoring Carey and Dylan Bates.

The Engineers got a run back in the bottom half of the inning, when they strung together back-to-back-to-back singles to open the frame. Joseph Curci drove home Richard Drum with a base hit trough the left side.

RPI pulled to within 4-3 in the fifth, thanks to an RBI-single from Drum and an RBI-double off the bat of Vaccari.

The Nittany Lions created some separation once again in the sixth, as Clayton Hain cleared the bases with two-out double to the gap in in right center. George Stiuso followed that up with a single to right, scoring Hain for an 8-3 lead.

A string of pinch hitters helped mount a rally for the Engineers in the eighth. Freshman Martin Marintchev lined a single to left center that scored Vaccari, before sophomore Freddy Reichelt reach on an infield hit that brought home classmate Jack Moncur, drawing RPI within 8-5.

RPI then brought the tying run to the plate in the ninth, but were unable to close the gap.

PSU starter Tyler Manger went the distance, allowing five runs on 15 hits over 9.0 innings. He struck out five and walked one. Christopher Palmiero gave up four runs (2 earned) over 4.0 innings, with four strikeouts and one walk.

The Engineers are back in action tomorrow morning, when they take on Oneonta at Lake Myrtle Sports Complex in Auburndale, Fla.