Heartland baseball scored two mid-week wins over nonconference opponents on Tuesday and Wednesday, as the Hawks defeated South Suburban College 3-2 on the road before returning to The Corn Crib for a 7-5 victory over Triton College.
 
Game 1
In a defensive battle against South Suburban College on Tuesday, a run by the Hawks in the fifth inning proved to be the difference in their 3-2 win over the Bulldogs in nine innings. Heartland jumped in front early, as Corey Boyette smashed a two-run blast to right field to give the Hawks a 2-0 lead. South Suburban would score once in the second, and another run in the fourth to tie the contest at 2-2. The deciding run came in the ensuing half-inning, as Jacyk Uehling singled to drive in Daniel Mosele to give the visitors a 3-2 advantage. Six Heartland pitchers limited the offense of the Bulldogs, with Kyle Anderson (2-1) ultimately picking up the win after tossing two scoreless frames.
 
Game 2
The Hawks returned home for a face-off with Triton College on Wednesday, as a late surge boosted them to a 7-5 win over the Trojans. TJ Williams started the scoring in the first frame, as he advanced on an error by Triton's left fielder. Sam Antonacci drove-in Ben Hartl moments later to give Heartland an early 2-0 lead. An RBI groundout by Bobby Atkinson in the third extended Heartland's lead to 3-0, but the Trojans would respond with three tallies of their own in the fifth to tie the contest at 3-3. The Hawks would regain the lead in the bottom half, as Antonacci crossed home after a throwing error by Triton's catcher. A triple by Triton's Antoine Harris netted two tallies for the Trojans in the sixth to give them the lead back at 5-4. Heartland responded in the bottom-half of the sixth frame, as Hartl drove in Gallien Coupet with a single. Antonacci then knocked in Hartl with a double before Boyette lifted a sacrifice fly to score Antonacci to make it 7-5. The bullpen of the Hawks held strong for the remaining three innings, as Will Fletcher and Parker Bradford combined for 6 strikeouts to secure the victory.
 
Heartland returns to action for a four-game set against Spoon River College on Friday and Saturday. The Hawks will travel to Canton for two games on Friday beginning at 1 pm, before returning to The Corn Crib for two more on Saturday with first pitch scheduled at 1 pm.