Entering the 2023 baseball season, head coach Chris Razo and the Heartland Hawks had high expectations after returning multiple key contributors from a squad that reached the quarterfinals of the NJCAA DII World Series last spring. Heartland exceeded these expectations, as the Hawks captured their first National title in program history Saturday with an 8-6 victory over Southeastern Iowa Community College at David Allen Memorial Ballpark in Enid, Okla.
 
The Hawks rode the momentum of a solid start by Maryland commit Meade Johnson by tallying multiple early runs. After Gallien Coupet and Ben Hartl both walked to begin the bottom of the first frame, Corey Boyette delivered a two-out, two-run triple to give the Hawks a 2-0 advantage. The Blackhawks would narrow the deficit in the third on a Marcus Beatty solo shot to left center to make it 2-1.
 
Johnson (7-0) settled in from there, as the tournament's Most Valuable Player registered 11 punch-outs. The righty logged five innings, and yielded three runs on four hits. The Hawks answered in the bottom of the third with two runs, as a Mark Kattula RBI groundout and a Daniel Mosele RBI single made it 4-1.
 
A Bobby Atkinson two-run bomb followed by a run-scoring single by Jacyk Uehling extended the lead to 7-1 in the fourth. A Southeastern Iowa error allowed TJ Williams to score in the fifth as the Hawks enjoyed an 8-1 lead.
 
The Blackhawks had a rally in them, however. The visitors scored four runs on four hits in the top-half of the sixth, and suddenly it was an 8-5 ballgame. After two Hawks reached base to begin their half of the sixth, a triple play on a Kattula laser to shortstop ended the threat. Southeastern Iowa would add one more in the seventh to bring the score closer at 8-6.
 
Freshman Jacob Price came on for the final two innings, and made quick work of the Blackhawks to secure the win. Price threw two innings, and allowed no hits and one walk to earn the save for the Hawks.
 
Kattula, Coupet, and Hartl were selected on the All-Tournament Team, which was announced at the conclusion of the contest. Atkinson also received the Offensive MVP Award, while Razo received the Coach of the Tournament award. Heartland, who entered the tournament as the top overall seed after sweeping the Region 24 Tournament, conclude the season with a 57-5 overall record. The Hawks extended their winning streak to 10 games to finish out the year, and were the only team in the tournament without a loss throughout the week.