NORMAL, Ill. - The Heartland Hawks swept a four-game series against Lincoln Land Community College, improving their win-streak to eight games. Going into the series, the Loggers were first in the Mid-West Athletic Conference standings with a conference record of 12-4. After the series sweep, the Hawks move up to second place in the conference, with Lincoln Land falling to fifth. 

Saturday, April 13th

Game 1 (W, 7-0)

Dayton University commit Andrew Zapka took the mound for the Hawks in the first game of the series, improving his record to 4-2 on the season. Zapka put in 6.0 innings of work, allowing only four hits and striking out seven of the batters he faced. Killian O'Hanlon came into the game in the seventh inning, throwing 3.0 innings for the save, allowing one hit and striking out three. 

The Hawks put runs on the board early in the game, scoring all seven runs within the first three innings. Peyton Dillingham got it started in the bottom of the first inning, driving in two on a line drive to left field. It was in the third inning that the Hawks took a comfortable lead, scoring five insurance runs on the Loggers. With one out and two runners on base, designated hitter Josh Stivers came to the plate, hitting a line drive to right field to score Miles Simington  (Purdue University commit) and Peyton Dillingham. Michael Bieterman added another two runs with a line drive to right field, scoring Stivers and Shakur Jackson. Bieterman would go on to score the final run of the game a batter later when Matt Barnes doubled to left field. 

Game 2 (W, 4-0)

In game two of the afternoon, Clifton Slagel threw a complete game shutout for the Hawks, allowing only two hits and striking out five of the 24 batters he faced. The Tulane University commit is now 4-1 on the season.

As was the case in the first game, the Hawks' scoring got started early in the first inning on an RBI single to left field by Miles Simington. That would be the Hawks' lone run of the game until the fifth inning, where the Hawks would add three more. After reaching base on a walk, Miles Simington would advance to third after two well-placed back-to-back bunts by Peyton Dillingham and Shakur Jackson. Simington would go on to score from third on a wild pitch by Lincoln Land's  TJ Painter. Peyton Dillingham would then go on to score on a Tyler McHolland (University of Central Missouri commit) walk. A batter later, Billy Mote (Creighton University commit) would single to right field to score Shakur Jackson for the Hawks' final run of the game.

Monday, April 15th

Game 3 (W, 2-1, 8 Inn.)

Returning home for the final two games of the series, the Hawks looked to finish out the series with a pair of wins. Garner Spoljaric put in 7.0 solid innings on the mound, allowing the lone run of the game in the sixth inning, while striking out nine and allowing only five total hits. 

Lincoln Land's Spencer Walker kept the Hawks off the scoreboard through three innings, but the Hawks would take a one run lead in the bottom of the fourth when Walker walked Michael Bieterman on a wild pitch that would score Shakur Jackson from third base. The Hawks held the lead until the sixth inning, where the Loggers would score their only run in the game on an error committed by third baseman Billy Mote. The game would be forced into extra innings, where Paul Turelli struck out the side in the top of the eighth to give the Hawks the chance to win yet another game this year in walk-off fashion. It was Josh Stivers who was the hero, who drove in the game winning run with two outs on a single to left field that scored Miles Simington from third base. 

Game 4 (W, 2-1)

Despite the same final score of the first game of the afternoon, game two would not require extra innings to secure a win for the Hawks. Semester transfer Shane Gorman took the mound for the Hawks, improving his record to 3-2 on the season. Gorman recorded a complete game, facing 26 batters, allowing only one run on seven hits. 

As was the case in the previous three games in the series, the Hawks were the first to put a run on the board, getting things started in the bottom of the first inning. After a lead off single from Sam Olson, Shakur Jackson came to the plate and doubled to left center field, scoring Olson from first base. Lincoln Land would come back to score a run of their own in the top of the second inning on an RBI single to right field by shortstop Jayden Reed. The game would be only be tied for a short time, as the Hawks would take the lead again in the bottom of the second inning. With University High School alum Billy Mote on third base, Sam Olson hit a high fly ball to center field, which saw Mote tag up to score the go-ahead run for the Hawks. 

The Hawks return home on Friday, April 19th at 2:00 PM for a doubleheader against conference rivals Parkland College. You can live stream all home games by clicking here, and follow along with live stats by clicking here.