After winning a close 12-10 nonconference decision over Lake Land College last Tuesday, the Heartland baseball team wrapped-up conference play on Saturday and Sunday against John Wood Community College. The Hawks would split Saturday's doubleheader with the Blazers before winning both contests on Sunday. Heartland completed its regular season on Tuesday, as the Hawks defeated Carl Sandburg 10-8. Heartland currently sits at 50-5 overall and 28-4 in conference play, and have secured the No. 1 overall seed in the Region-24 Tournament, which runs May 17-21 at The Corn Crib.
 
Game 1
It was Education Day at The Corn Crib on Tuesday, as nearly 2000 students and staff members from local schools attended Heartland's game against Lake Land. The fans in attendance saw a battle on display, as the Hawks held on for a 12-10 win over the Lakers. After the Lakers scored a run in the top of the first, RBI singles by Bobby Atkinson, Matt Santarelli and Aidan McNamee gave the Hawks a 4-1 lead. Lake Land would score once more in the second before Corey Boyette delivered an RBI double in the bottom half of the frame to make it 4-2. Moments later, Atkinson lifted a liner over the center field fence to score Boyette, as the Hawks enjoyed a 7-2 advantage. The Lakers had a response in order, scoring three runs in the fourth, one in the fifth and one more in the sixth to tie the game at 7-7. Sam Antonacci would break the tie in the sixth with a three-run, towering bomb to right field to give the Hawks a 10-7 lead. Ben Hartl would add a solo shot in the eighth, which was followed by a run-scoring ground out by Boyette to extend the lead to 12-7. The Lakers would threaten in the top of the ninth, as they scored three more runs before Antonacci secured the final out on the mound.
 
Game 2
In another close matchup, the Hawks escaped an early deficit in a walk-off, 10-9 win over John Wood in game one on Saturday at The Corn Crib. The Blazers struck first with three runs in the opening inning, and one more in the top of the third to make it 4-0. A two-RBI single by Antonacci made it 4-2 in the third before TJ Williams supplied a run-scoring hit in the sixth to move the score to 4-3 in favor of John Wood. An error on an Atkinson bunt allowed two more runs to cross in the seventh to give Heartland a 5-4 advantage. Hartl, Antonacci and Boyette each drove-in runs in the eighth frame with base knocks to extend Heartland's lead to 9-4. The Blazers were not finished, however, as a sacrifice fly and a grand slam again knotted things up at 9-9. The deciding run would come in the bottom of the ninth. After Daniel Mosele and Mark Kattula both drew walks with one out in the frame, Gallien Coupet laced a liner to right field to score Santarelli as the Hawks escaped with the victory. Meade Johnson drew the start for Heartland, tossing 7.0 innings and yielding 4 runs on 6 hits, while walking 4 and striking out 7.
 
Game 3
Saturday's second game was not so favorable for the Hawks. A Boyette three-run homer in the first gave Heartland an early 3-0 advantage. A John Wood error allowed two more runs to come around in the second to make it 5-0. After two more scoreless frames and one out recorded by Heartland starter Jason Buhl in the fifth, the contest moved to multiple weather delays that halted the game for nearly two hours. Play eventually resumed, and the Blazers came out of the locker room poised to make a comeback. The visitors would do just that, as they scored 12 runs in the fifth to suddenly take a 12-5 lead. Kattula would drive in a run on a sacrifice fly in the fifth to make it 12-6, but the Blazers held on for the victory.
 
Game 4
The Hawks traveled to Quincy, Ill. for a twin-bill on Sunday against the Blazers, ultimately winning game one 10-5. Hartl ignited the scoring for the Hawks with a solo shot in the first before Boyette scored on a wild pitch to give Heartland a 2-0 lead. Boyette added a two-RBI triple in the third, and eventually scored on an Atkinson homer to make it 6-0. The Blazers made the contest interesting, scoring two runs in the fourth and three more in the fifth to make it 6-5. McNamee delivered a sacrifice fly in the sixth to provide a bit of cushion and extend the advantage to 7-5 before the Hawks scored three more times in the seventh on run-scoring knocks by Hartl and Auston Brewer.
 
Game 5
In the series finale, the Heartland offense exploded for 26 hits en route to a 24-11 win over the Blazers. Antonacci (6-6, 6 R, 4 RBI's) and Coupet (5-7, 3 R, 2 RBI's) had huge days at the plate for the Hawks. Boyette, Atkinson, TJ Williams, Beau Polickey and Kattula also finished the afternoon with multi-hit outings. Antonacci, Boyette and Polickey each supplied home runs in the win for the Hawks. The big inning for the visitors came in the ninth, as the Hawks scored 14 runs after trailing 11-10 entering the frame.
 
Game 6
Heartland rounded-out regular season play with a nonconference home matchup with Carl Sandburg on Tuesday. In a back-and-forth contest, two runs in the eighth frame by the Hawks proved to be the difference in a 10-8 victory. The Chargers jumped out in front first with a run in the second. The Hawks took their first lead in the bottom half of the inning. Brewer contributed an RBI with a single before Coupet drove in another tally on a sacrifice fly to bring the score to 2-1. Carl Sandburg would score another run in the third, and two more in the fourth before a Polickey run-scoring single and a two-run homer by Antonacci again put Heartland in front at 5-4. After the Chargers took back the lead with two runs in the seventh, RBI knocks by Coupet and Hartl and an Atkinson hit by pitch with the bases loaded gave the Hawks a late 8-6 advantage. A solo shot by Kyle Jannenga in the eighth broke an 8-8 tie. Moments later, Polickey scored on a wild pitch to extend the lead to 10-8. Jake Jakubowski closed things out in the ninth as the Hawks took the season finale at The Corn Crib.