Heartland softball kicked-off conference play on Sunday afternoon, as the Hawks played host to NJCAA DII No. 6-ranked Parkland College for a doubleheader. Strong play on both sides of the ball ultimately boosted the Cobras, as the visitors won both contests on the day.
 
Game 1
Offense was hard to come by for the Hawks in game one, as Parkland held the home team to no runs and just 1 hit in a 9-0 win in five innings. Grace Wyman supplied the lone base-knock for Heartland in the fourth frame. The Cobras started the scoring with a run in the second inning, and added another in the third to make it 2-0 before adding five more to the tally in the fourth frame to open-up a 7-0 lead. Parkland would score twice more in the fifth frame, as the No. 6 Cobras took home the conference-opening victory.
 
Game 2
The second game of the day began similarly, but this time the big inning for the Cobras came in the opening frame. A grand slam and two more run-scoring hits gave Parkland an early 7-0 advantage. Heartland responded with a run in the bottom-half of the first, as Grace Wyman laced an RBI double to center field to make it 7-1. Parkland would add one more run in the third before Stephanie Rochowicz was able to score on an error in the fifth to make it 8-2. Rochowicz then added a run-scoring single to score Raeghan Morefield in the sixth to account for the Hawks' lone other run of the contest. Rochowicz led the Hawks' offense, going 2-2 with 1 RBI and 1 run scored.
 
The Hawks (5-5, 0-2) will return to action for a home conference doubleheader on Tuesday against Spoon River College, with first pitch scheduled for 2:00 pm.