CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The Hawks were on the road Sunday to face rivals Parkland College in a conference doubleheader. Parkland would win both games of the afternoon, taking the first place spot in the Midwest Athletic Conference standings. Heartland, after a three-game skid, falls to second place behind Parkland with a 14-6 record in conference play.

Game 1 (L, 5-7)

Tijanne Ross (University of Wisconsin - Parkside commit) would get the start in the first game of the afternoon, throwing a complete 6.0 inning game, allowing seven runs on seven hits and striking out four. 

The Hawks would have a one run lead for two innings, scoring on a sacrifice ground ball hit by Alysa Martin that would score Jasmine McCormick from third base, who hit a leadoff triple. Parkland would then take a two-run lead in the third inning on a Camryn Skundberg homerun to go up 3-1, a lead the Cobras would hold until the fifth inning. 

The fifth inning would see the Hawks narrow the deficit to one run when Jasmine McCormick would score Molly Walter on a line drive to left field. An inning later, Parkland's Summer Johnson drove in two runs on a double to left fielder Grace LaFollett. The Cobras would score another two on a Tori Witruk RBI double and a ground out by Lauren Wendling. A late push in the top of the seventh inning would see the Hawks score three runs to come within two, bringing the final score to 5-7. 

Game 2 (L, 9-10)

The second game of Sunday's doubleheader would see the Hawks come back from a seven-run deficit to come within one run of the Cobras. 

The Hawks put two easy runs on the board in the top of the first inning on wild pitches thrown by Parkland's Kate Beckemeyer. In the bottom of the same inning, Camryn Skundberg would hit her second homerun of the game to tie the game at two. Summer Johnson's RBI double would give Parkland a 3-2 lead after one inning of play. 

In the second inning, Jasmine McCormick would tie the game up, scoring Grace LaFollett on an RBI single to center field. Parkland would go on to score seven runs in the third and fourth inning to take a seven-run lead on the Hawks. Camryn Skundberg would record her second homerun of the game, to hit a total of three homeruns on the afternoon. 

Trailing 3-10 going into the fifth inning, Maddie Mackey hit a ground ball to third baseman Skundberg, reaching base on an error and scoring Jasmine McCormick. The sixth inning saw the Hawks score five, chipping away at Parkland with RBI singles to come within one run but it wouldn't be enough to take an edge on the Cobras. 

The Hawks will finish the remainder of the 2019 season on the road, and will face Lincoln Land Community College on May 3rd in Springfield, Illinois.