The Heartland baseball team extended its winning streak to 16 games this weekend, as the Hawks completed a four-game sweep of Spoon River College on Friday and Saturday. The NJCAA DII No. 2-ranked Hawks currently sit at 39-4 overall and 21-3 in conference play entering the last stretch of the regular season.
 
Game 1
In game one of the four-game series at The Corn Crib, the Hawks scored in every offensive appearance en route to a 14-0 victory over the Snappers in five innings on Saturday. The Hawks scored three runs in the first, five in the second and three apiece in the third and fourth frames in the victory. Sam Antonacci (2-3, 3 RBI's) led the charge offensively for Heartland, with Corey Boyette, Mark Kattula, Bobby Atkinson, TJ Williams and Daniel Mosele also landing in the hit column. Meade Johnson (5-0) picked up the win for the home team, tossing five shutout innings while yielding just 3 hits. Johnson also struck-out 4.
 
Game 2
The Hawks compiled 12 hits in game two of Saturday's doubleheader at The Corn Crib in a 13-3 win over the Snappers in six innings. An RBI single by Atkinson in the first frame made it 1-0 before run-scoring doubles by Ben Hartl and Antonacci and another RBI single by Atkinson pushed the Heartland lead to 6-0 through two innings. Antonacci and Atkinson would each homer in the fourth frame to make it 9-1. After the Snappers tacked on two more tallies in the fifth and sixth innings, the Hawks scored four runs in the bottom of the sixth. Jason Buhl (4-0) received the win for the Hawks after allowing 2 runs on 4 hits, while striking out 8 and walking 4 in five innings.
 
Game 3
Heartland's offense continued to churn in Sunday's doubleheader in Canton, with the Hawks taking home a 16-2 victory in game three of the series. The Hawks again finished the contest with 12 hits, four of which came from Gallien Coupet (4-4, 2 R, 4 RBI's). Antonacci (3-4, 2 R, 5 RBI's) and Boyette (2-5, 2 R, 3 RBI's) also finished with multi-hit performances. After the Hawks held a 4-2 advantage through five innings, a 12-run sixth frame put the game out of reach. Luke Wright (6-1) finished the afternoon with 11 punchouts after allowing 2 runs (1 earned) on 6 hits in five innings.
 
Game 4
In the series finale, the Hawks tallied 15 hits in a 13-1 victory over the Snappers to sweep the series. Darian Crisp, Auston Brewer, Coupet, Matt Santarelli and Antonacci all finished with two-hit games for Heartland, with Santarelli, Antonacci and Boyette all hitting home runs in the win. The Hawks scored in every inning of the contest, including five runs in the sixth frame. Cy Cox (5-0) threw an efficient six innings, allowing 1 run on 8 hits. Cox walked 1 and struck-out 9.
Heartland returns to action at Rock Valley College on Tuesday for a doubleheader, with first pitch set for 2 pm.